Introduction “Those dry, boring scales! My teacher makes me practice them, but they don’t do anything for me.” People who feel this way haven’t discovered how scales are related to everything else in music. They haven’t learned how to hear the notes in a scale and relate them to songs, melodies, and improvised lines. Aside from pitch, every scale tone has a distinct sound and musical purpose. In this workshop, you’ll discover this through ear training and structured practice with the goal of improving your ability to play by ear. We focus on the Major Scale because it’s the starting point for all other scales. We use solfege as a way to indentify notes by how they sound relative to a given key. We really don’t care about the letter names of notes (i.e. C, D, E), because they’re just labels. They don’t tell us anything about how a note sounds. Learning solfege will help you bridge the gap between what you hear in your head and what you play on the ukulele. Be prepared to work hard. It may take you days, weeks, or month for the light bulb to go on, but when it does, your musical senses will be awakened. Ted Fong Ukulele Instructor April 2012
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Solfege Solfege is used to identify the sound and position of notes relative to a given key. In the key of C for example, the solfege of the major scale notes are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, and Ti:
A.
Do
Re
Mi
Fa
So
La
Ti
Do
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
Solfege is also used to identify the sound and position of notes not found in the major scale, i.e. the black notes. When written as “flat notes” they are Ra, Me, Se, Le, and Te: Db
B.
Eb
Gb
Ab
Bb
Ra Me
Se
Le
Te
Do
Re
Mi
Fa
So
La
Ti
Do
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
Think of “Ra” as the flat of “Re” (pronounced “ray”) and “Me” (pronounced “may”) as the flat of “Mi,” and so on.
When written as sharp notes, the black notes are Di, Ri, Fi, Si, and Li:
C.
C#
D#
F#
G#
A#
Di
Ri
Fi
Si
Li
Do
Re
Mi
Fa
So
La
Ti
Do
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
Think of “Di” (pronounced “dee”) as the sharp of “Do” and “Ri” (pronounced “ree”) as the sharp of “Re,” and so on.
Examples B and C show that the same note can have two different names. You probably already recognize the sound of Do-Re-Me. With ear training, you’ll be able to recognize other note sequences like So-Do, La-Ti-Do, La-Le-So, and Fa, Mi, Re, Do, and play them on your ukulele. “Playing by ear” means you can hear something, understand it, and find it on your instrument. Solfege will help you develop your ear by leaps and bounds. So, Why Solfege is Important? Solfege helps you identify and understand what you’re hearing and connects it with your playing. It helps you play ukulele by ear! www.cooluke.com
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Scales The Major Scale is the mother of all scales. It is defined by the following sequence of whole steps (W) and half steps (H):
Piano
Do
Re
Mi
Fa
So
La
Ti
Do
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
W
Ukulele
A E . C G
W
H
C
W W D
W
W E
W
H
F
G
H
W
A
W
B
W
C
H
There are many other scales used in music composition and improvisation. It’s useful to think of these as alterations of the Major Scale: Major Pentatonic
1 Do
Minor Pentatonic
1 Do 1 Do 1 Do
Minor Jazz Minor
2 Re
3 Mi
5 So
6 La
2 Re 2 Re
b3 Me b3 Me b3 Me
4 Fa 4 Fa 4 Fa
5 So 5 So 5 So
b6 Le 6 La
b7 Te b7 Te 7 Ti
b3 Me
4 Fa
#4 Fi
5 So
b7 Le
Blues
1 Do
Lydian
1 Do
2 Re
3 Mi
#4 Fi
5 So
6 La
7 Ti
Mixolydian
1 Do
2 Re
3 Mi
4 Fa
5 So
6 La
b7 Te
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Shape G – Major and Pentatonic Scales G Shape
2
So
G Major Scale
Mi
So
Do Mi
Ti
Mi
Fingering
1
Do Fa
G Pentatonic
1
1
2
2
3
La Re
So
So
Mi Do
4
So Si
La
4
With Passing Tones
Mi Do
La Re
So
Fa Fi
Re
So
The G Major and Pentatonic scales are based on the “G Shape” chord. Their notes span one octave and can be played in a “box” spanning 4 frets. The Pentatonic scale is a subset of the Major scale (missing Fa and Ti are ommitted). Along with passing tones, it’s useful for improvising. Practice these scales up and down, starting on any note and singing the solfege of each note you play. Sing these phrases acappella and then play along while you sing to check your accuracy. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Do Re Mi Fa So So Fa Mi Re Do Do Mi So Mi Do Do Ti La Ti Do So La Ti Do
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Mi Re Do Fa Mi Fa Mi Ti Do So Fa Mi Re Do So Do So Do Mi Do Mi So Do Re Mi
The following songs can be played using the “G Shape” major scale inside the “box.” Start the songs on different frets. Sing the solfege while playing. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Amazing Grace Love Me Tender Bingo Jingle Bells Happy Birthday Ode to Joy Peace Like a River If You’re Happy and You Know It I’ve Been Working on the Railroad Tiny Bubbles I Can See Clearly Now To You Sweetheart Aloha What a Wonderful World Our Day Will Come
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So Do Mi Do Mi So Do Ti Do Re La Re So Do Do So So La La So Mi Mi Mi So So La So Do Ti Mi Mi Fa So So La Do So So Do So Mi Re Do So Fa Do Re Mi So So Mi So So Ti Do Do So La
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Shape D – Major and Pentatonic Scales D Shape
2
So
D Major Scale
Do Mi
Do Mi
La
Fingering
1
Do
3
3
Ti So
1
Do Mi
La
With Passing Tones Me
Le
Do Mi
La
Fa
Te
2
Fa Re
1
D Pentatonic
Do
4
Re
4
Re So
Do
Fi
So
Do
The D Major and Pentatonic scales are based on the “D Shape” chord. Their notes span one octave and can be played in a “box” spanning 4 frets. The Pentatonic scale is a subset of the Major scale (Fa and Ti are omitted). Along with passing tones, it’s used for improvising. Practice these scales up and down, starting on any note and singing the solfege of each note you play. Sing the following phrases acappella and then play along while you sing. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Do Re Mi Fa So Mi Re Do So Fa Mi Re Do Do Mi So Do So Mi Do So La Ti Do
6. Do Ti La So Do 7. Ti Do So Mi So Do 8. Fa Mi Ti Do 9. Do Mi So Ti 10. So Do La Fa Mi Do Re
The following songs can be played using the “D Shape” major scale inside the “box.” Start the songs on different frets. Sing the solfege while playing. Song
Starting Notes
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Do Ti La So Do Mi Fa So So So So La Do Re Mi Do Re Mi Do Mi Re Do Ti La So Fa Mi Mi Mi Fa Mi Re Do
Joy to the World When the Saints Go Marching In Blowin’ in the Wind Oh Susanna! Doe a Deer In His Time Fly Me to the Moon Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head
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Shape C – Major and Pentatonic Scales C Shape
3
So
C Major Scale Do
Mi Do
So
Do
Mi Fa
Fingering 1
C Pentatonic
2 La
Re
3
So
1
Do
2
Me So
Do
Mi Si/Le
Mi
2
With Passing Tones
La
Re
La
Re Ri
Ti
Mi
4
4
Mi
The C Major and Pentatonic scales are based on the “C Shape” chord. Their notes span one octave and can be played in a “box” spanning 5 frets (a little stretching is required). The Pentatonic scale is a subset of the Major scale (Fa and Ti are omitted). Along with passing tones, it’s used for improvising. Practice these scales up and down, starting on any note and singing the solfege of each note you play. Sing the following phrases acappella and then play while you sing. 1. Do Re Mi Re Do 2. So La Ti Do 3. Do So La Ti Do Re Do
4. Mi (high) Re Do Re Mi Mi Mi 5. Mi (low) So Do 6. So Do Re Mi
The following songs can be played using the “C Shape” major scale inside the “box.” Start the songs on different frets. Sing the solfege while playing. Song
Starting Notes
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Mi So Do So La Do So Do Ti Do Re La Re Do La So Mi Mi So Re Do So Fa
Pearly Shells Peace Like a River Love Me Tender Silver Bells Edelweiss
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