Forget the First Note, give me the Do

Veronica Brandt · January 14, 2017

HERE ARE LOTS of familiar pieces I can sing from a first note, but somehow when it comes to sight reading chant I need the Do or tonic note.

There is a habit passed around some choirs here to sing a descending few notes – Do La Fa – to anchor the ear and find the right note. The sequence helps get away from the modern major scale and cue the brain for more modal sounds.

And it’s not just for the beginning of a piece, but often as a safety net in case of mishaps along the way.

So, if you are helping me out at Mass and we’re ready to begin the Communion Antiphon, hum a Do, La, Fa before giving me the starting note.

I don’t know where this practice comes from, but I find it very handy myself. I offer it here in case someone else finds it useful.

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

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).

22 October 2021 • “Sad & Unnecessary”

The USCCB has completely deleted a section of their website which (before they deleted it) contained helpful resources for the classical Roman Rite. Something cool they had included (before they deleted it) was a link to the new prefaces, approved by Pope Francis on 25 March 2020. Will this madness never end?

—Jeff Ostrowski

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—Jeff Ostrowski

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The wonderful Sophia Institute Press has begun a “Q+A” section which tackles common liturgical questions, and here’s a sample: “At a conference I recently attended, the speaker said hymns don’t belong at Mass; was he telling the truth?” And you can read the answer. To access the complete set (which is a work in progress), scroll towards the bottom of this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“The sun’s disc did not remain immobile. This was not the sparkling of a heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad whirl, when suddenly a clamor was heard from all the people. The sun, whirling, seemed to loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was terrible.”

— ‘Dr. Almeida Garrett, professor of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra (1917)’

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About Veronica Brandt