Music is an integral part of our lives. It resides inside each one of us, stirring our imaginations and connecting us with one another. Music is intuitive. But in order to sharpen that musical intuition in aspiring artists, that intuition needs to be brought into the forefront of their musical upbringing. Music needs to be understood, felt, experienced on an advanced level. Solfege Classes at OCM help with just that.
From early ages, students learn to sing on pitch, feel a steady beat and react to different colors of harmonic structures. They learn to write down what they hear and sing what they see on a page. They learn to recognize and sing intervals, chords, scales before they even have a theoretical understanding of these musical elements. That ear training is essential in successful mastery of instrumental music.
Students also learn the theory behind the music, because an aspiring musician needs to be highly proficient in the “written language” of music, just as they learn the “spoken language” through their instruments.
All Solfege Classes are divided into three levels. Students are placed in an appropriate class, according to their age and musical experience. All classes are taught in the fixed DO system.
solfege I
Ages 4 to 7
Saturdays 10:30am-11:15am
Instructor: Dr. Angelika Machnik-Jones
2024 Fall Semester class schedule: 09/07, 09/14, 09/21, 09/28, 10/05, 10/12, 10/26, 11/02, 11/09, 11/16, 12/07
2025 Spring Semester class schedule: 01/25, 02/01, 02/08, 02/15, 02/22, 03/01, 03/08, 03/15, 03/29, 04/05, 04/12, 04/26, 05/03
Maximum of 8 students per class.
Concepts to master: singing on pitch, accurately repeating rhythms, singing C major scale with accurate pitch in both letter names and solfege, understanding basic note values, being able to clap/tap rhythms with these note values
Students may register before the start of the Fall semester. Spring semester registrations are permitted on a case-by-case basis.
solfege II
Ages 7 to 11.
Saturdays 11:30am-12:15pm
Instructor: Dr. Angelika Machnik-Jones
2024 Fall Semester class schedule: 09/07, 09/14, 09/21, 09/28, 10/05, 10/12, 10/26, 11/02, 11/09, 11/16, 12/07
2025 Spring Semester class schedule: 01/25, 02/01, 02/08, 02/15, 02/22, 03/01, 03/08, 03/15, 03/29, 04/05, 04/12, 04/26, 05/03
Maximum of 8 students per class.
Concepts to master: complete mastery of all notes on staff in both treble and bass clef; sight-singing melodies with accurate pitch in both C major and a minor; understanding time signatures, key signatures, minor scales dotted rhythms, syncopations; singing scales and arpeggios up to three sharps and three flats; aurally recognizing and singing intervals; four main types of chords, simple melodic and rhythmic dictations
Students may register before the start of the Fall semester. Spring semester registrations are permitted on a case-by-case basis.
solfege iii
Ages 12 and up
Saturdays 12:30pm - 1:15pm
Instructor: Tatiana Stratenco
2024 Fall Semester class schedule: 09/07, 09/14, 09/21, 09/28, 10/05, 10/12, 10/26, 11/02, 11/09, 11/16, 12/07
2025 Spring Semester class schedule: 01/25, 02/01, 02/08, 02/15, 02/22, 03/01, 03/08, 03/15, 03/29, 04/05, 04/12, 04/26, 05/03
Maximum of 8 students per class.
Concepts to master: singing all major and minor scales and arpeggios; sight-singing more complicated melodies; memory melodic dictations; recognizing chords in inversions; understanding and recognizing cadences and other harmonic progressions; complete mastery of singing intervals, which culminate in singing atonal melodies; preparation for potential ABRSM Aural Exams, RCM Theory Exams, OMTA Theory Exams; preparation for college-level aural skills classes