Ear Training - Building Fluency in Melodic Dictation

Characteristics of Melodic Dictations

Classical phrase structure often contains repetitions of motivic material. It also often contains references to tones from certain triads, even if we cannot hear the implied harmonic accompaniment. This week’s melodic dictations, in addition to the stepwise movement we have covered in previous weeks, will feature tones from the tonic and dominant triads, and in some cases the dominant seventh chord.

The example below shows the type of triadic movement you can expect from the dictations we will study in class:

Tips for Success

• Remember the solfege syllables from the tonic and dominant triads. I = do-mi-sol; V = sol-ti-re. Sometimes, the major-minor 7 chord, i.e. V7, will be implied – sol-ti-re-fa.

• Before you start, look at your key signature and jot down the pitches that correspond to the solfege you’ve identified. For example, in the key of C major you would write “do = C; mi = E; sol = G” to jog your memory and avoid writing wrong pitches into the staff.

• As always, make sure you have correctly examined your time signature before you write anything down. How many beats are in the measure? What is the beat note?

… and remember …

• Not all melodies start or end on do. Many, many pieces start with sol-do (for example, “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”); many start with sol-mi (for example, “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”); further, plenty of melodies finish on mi or sol even when the final cadence implies V-I.

• Practice writing out some well-known melodies that contain the principles we’re working on this week. Some good examples of melodies that utilize the tones of the tonic and dominant triads include: “Glory, Glory Hallelujah,” “Jingle Bells,” “Skip To My Lou,” and many nursery rhymes and folk songs. Once you’ve written your melody, do a Google Image Search for public-domain images of other people’s transcriptions, and compare your work with them. Ask yourself where you went wrong, and figure out what you need to work on for next time. Good luck!