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Views from the Choir Loft

Solfege? There’s an app for that.

Veronica Brandt · February 28, 2015

Ear HERE WAS A BOY WHO DELIGHTED in correcting his mother’s piano students as they were working on identifying intervals. He never studied as such, but the regular exposure to other people practising seeped into his head.

It isn’t so much a matter of natural born talent or hard work as a case of regular practice. A little bit each day is the way to plant the new patterns in your brain.

Now, not everyone can arrange for a stream of school students to come around every afternoon for piano lessons, so how can the average aspiring sight reader get this regular practice?

Just go online.

Theta Music Trainer is a collection of games identifying scales, intervals, chords, pitches (or tones) and even the sounds of different instruments.

The games look like child’s play, but the skills are way beyond what I covered at school. Paddle Tones and Tone Drops are good for picking out notes. Dango Brothers is good for matching pitch. There’s even a game where you sing into a microphone to match pitch. I bet you can think of someone you would like to work on that game!

The games can be played at random, or you can opt in to “courses” which bundle 30 groups of 5 games to give about 15 minutes of practice every day for a month. Each level you complete counts towards a colored “belt”. Yes, you can get a black belt in Music Theory!

Signing up for a free account gives you access to the first three levels of each game, which is pretty useful in itself. Full access to Theta music trainer comes with a price tag. The individual account is a bit more than your average smartphone app, but if you have a few other people interested (like a choir) consider splitting a Studio account between you.

Playing the cute colorful games at Theta helps you get a taste of what ear training is all about. For a more serious survey of software available see Ear-training online.

I hope you find something useful. Excuse me, I have to go work on my green belt.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Goupil deserves the name of martyr not only because he has been murdered by the enemies of God and His Church while laboring in ardent charity for his neighbor, but most of all because he was killed for being at prayer and notably for making the Sign of the Cross.

— St. Isaac Jogues (after the martyrdom of Saint René Goupil)

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