Thanks for a thoughtful- and thought-provoking response! It has been a very interesting thread.
Cheers Keith in OZ Keith Helgesen. Director of Music, Canberra City Band. Ph: (02) 62910787. Band Mob. 0439-620587 Private Mob 0417-042171 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Arkady Sent: Tuesday, 7 February 2006 7:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Finale] Si vs. Ti - Do I know that this is OFF TOPIC here, but I just wanted to thank everyone on this Finale List for their feedback on this topic... Now I know better than to blame Sounds of Music:) After reading your replies, I got more ideas on what keywords to choose in Google, which led me to this Link, which I found to be very informative http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory1.htm These days I hardly ever get to use the Solfegio, and, whenever I or my students have to sing, we use ABCDEFGA or rarely Solfegio... In the former USSR where I grew up, here is what they've taught us, and I don't know how historically accurate the following fact is, that the "father of the Russian music", M.I. Glinka http://www.naxos.com/composer/glinka.htm "brought"/introduced/systematized the music education in Russian Empire back then... Looking back, it seems to me that Russians had the advantage PERHAPS of picking up the best ideas from all those different European "schools"/camps and making their own hybrid UP: Do - Do dee-es - Re - Re dee-es - Mi - Fa - Fa dee-es - Sol - Sol dee-es - La - La dee-es - Si - Do DOWN: Do - Si - Si bemol - La - La bemol - Sol - Sol bemol - Fa - Mi - Mi bemol - Re - Re bemol - Do So, that's what I've used all along... The only thing is that, when singing in a really fast tempo we'd drop dee-es (sharp) and bemol (flat). Luckily for me, when I came to NYC, they allowed me use that system, when I was a student at Mannes, and then Manhattan School of Music. It was a great decision on their part, cause it allowed me to proceed with my MUSIC studies, rather than wasting a year till I'd relearn a system that some of my instructors grew up with... Later on, when I gravitated towards Jazz, I realized that even my "Russian" System was more of an impediment, then help. Why? Cause after year of pronouncing those syllables, like Do - Do dee-es - Re - Re dee-es etc., it was SIMPLY IMPRACTICAL in the context of a fast tempo in Jazz, particularly for me, as a sax player, cause sometimes I'd play a particular piece on Alto, or Tenor, or on flute, and if it was with a different singer, who needed to change a key, then it's a whole other set of transpositions!!! Thus the Do Re Mi is an impediment vs. Key/Tonality Barrier etc. So, what are the best syllables to use? -- DEPENDS:) I personally believe that, when it comes to Jazz, I think scatting ala Ella Fitzgerald, or Sarah Vaughan, John Hendricks, Bobby MacFerrin etc Jazz singers is more practical... Why? Cause it doesn't HANDCUFF one to a particular key. Thus the EAR takes a HIGHER RESOLUTION PITCH SNAPSHOT of the MELODY, and a greater focus is placed on the pitches, passing tones and not, and how they relate the the harmonies, without constant re-labeling, re-NAMING of notes, whereas the harmonies themseleves are MOVABLE-REMOVABLE-REPLACEABLE etc... Using DIGITS/NUMBERS, at least SUBCONSIOUSLY might get us all closer to what that Transpose button does on electric keyboards starting with $99 or less:) Chances are that the monks, and other academicians of yesteryears would agree with this... And f course we are all in dept to those folks, but common sense and MUSIC should always come first... In the "Classical World" (boy that label is almost as funny as the "Legit World" ), how often do they transpose a piece to another key? RARELY, compared to Jazz. At least that's what I've seen... Imagine if the violinists, pianists were required to play their sonatas and concertos in different keys? Boy, you'd see some SCARY CHOPS:), and I mean both FINGERS and EARS:)!!!! In (my) Perfect World, I'd love to see kids being taught a bunch of different methods, not just one... And then, it would have been nice if they taught Indian and other "methods", so that it would become even more obvious that "we are not alone":):):)!!! Doing so, would give us a wider and deeper perspective on pieces we play, hear or create... Here is a Metaphor I often use -- Often when I look out of the airplane window and see trees, I think to myself -- does the tree know what country it grows in? But on the maps etc. that tree is in a particular country... Then, squirrels or monkeys run from tree to tree, in search of FOOD! They don't care about the COUNTRIES, languages etc... So, perhaps we can borrow that kind of thinking from our Darwinian relatives, fellow Earth passengers, or whatever they call us in " Heaven", and put first things FIRST... Who cares about the PACKAGING, like Do Re Mi, when one is HUNGRY FOR MUSIC!!! It's good to know PACKAGING, cause it can be helpful as a way to standardize SOME of the terminologies, but let's not turn the PACKAGING into a RELIGION, and hold endless panel discussions as to commas, fonts etc in the "Religious Texts":)! MUSIC should always come first, I think... PACKAGING is no substitution for a CONTENT.. MUSIC, like FOOD, nourishes us, with all the "consequences":), and we throw the PACKAGING AWAY.... And, as to the Russians, and not, knowing and not knowing the Do Re Mi, the " CORRECT WAY " etc. did not stop Tchaikovsky etc. etc. etc., or Charlie Parker etc. etc. etc etc. etc. etc, from CREATING GREAT MUSIC!!! Again THANK YOU ALL for your feedback... I just thought it deserved more than a shallow response. • ARKADY website: http://www.arkady.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.2/251 - Release Date: 4/02/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.2/251 - Release Date: 4/02/2006 _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
