…fun fact. In russian musical theory ‘Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si’ are actual notes names. I mean, you use latin letters (C-D-E-F-G-A-B) while we use Guidos solmisation. So, our ‘Do’ is always ‘C’ ))
Anyway, as a man with relative picth if I hear some song and I have no instrument around I usually consider the songs root as ‘C’ (if it has major quality) or ‘A’ (if it has minor quality).
And yes, seems like singing is the key. Well, I’m not a good singer but I tried to sing scales, and it was fun… I often whistle instead of singing ))
All of the different ways of looking at music scaffold (hopefully) greater fluency. Not so much one thing leading to another so much as everything leading to something else.
If you can’t match pitches with your voice, you likely won’t experience the “aha” of checking ones mental map with sung notes and having the degrees “pop” in one’s awareness, but that’s not the end of the world. You could just use numbers and syllables in your mind, but I’d encourage you to say the singable syllables as they are handy unsung too, especially for instrumentalists. I could imagine, say, “flat five,” but I know what a flat five is, and “se” is a nice shorthand in one syllable.
I’d emphasize that I use a combination of moveable and fixed, chromatic solfege, and I choose starting references based on need. E.g. analyzing a whole tune versus learning to hear an altered note over a particular chord in isolation. Root notes in a progression (do, do, do, …) are pretty dulling to awareness, but audiating individual chord scales may be enhanced by a root specific “do.”
The singing of intervals is tricky relative to singing chunked phrases. One doesn’t absolutely need a drone to practice, but having a pitch reference handy can be nice. If the goal is to hear the intervals in context, yes, but otherwise, I tend to practice with whatever ‘do’ feels comfortable, and I’ll audiate or sing up a scale to check pitches for accuracy. Julian Bradley speaks of “the stepping stone method.” Wasn’t sure I’d need it, but I find more and more that it solidifies my awareness of a key in context.
Not certain I answered your specific questions. There was a fair amount in the ask.
@Medium_Attempt have you ever played around with a piano keyboard? I’d suggest getting hold of a cheap one, pick out melodies and generally experiment.
Honestly, that doesn’t even matter too much. I get quite an amount of value from these posts anyway (But yeah, you did answer some things )
No, I haven’t touched keyboard much in my life. (Only minimaly while studying)
Anyway, I have heard similar advice but I don’t think it would bring me to some kind of enlightenment because I have worked quite a bit on single strings (which function like a piano. Well, at least as long as one plays only one note at a time). I have played scales and scalar patterns in such way as well as melodies so I have some experience at that
Still, thanks for the help
@Medium_Attempt - I’d still consider one for a few reasons. The notes are right in front of you in black and white (excuse the pun), and the technique to play it is a no brainer, choose the note and press the key. This makes a big difference, allows your brain to focus on the sound instead of visualising the fretboard and coordinating the two hands. Playing fast is easy. You can come up with melodies that you wouldn’t normally think of on guitar. Also, if you stick to the white keys only you’re essentially locked into a key (eg C major/A minor) and experimenting with chords and melody is dead simple - much simpler than guitar.
Aaand, using MIDI and a computer you can play bass and drums on it
I really think it might lead to the enlightenment you’re looking for. If you don’t get anything out of it after playing around for a month you could sell it for what you paid.
edit: And you can hack your way through Mozard and Bach sonatas and teach yourself how to read sheet music (also very helpful to train your ear). The list of ways it can help your ear is endless. Ok I’ll stop now.
That said, I’ll understand if you don’t
Mine hasn’t got much love lately, after writing that though I’ll do something about it.
If you start mapping from ‘do’ and find yourself requiring accidentals for notes not otherwise just used in passing, listen to the starting note for whether it sounds resolved or not, and revise your assumption. As you observe, a nursery rhyme will likely end on ‘do’.
The notes in the melody will fit into whatever parent scale, akin to puzzle pieces. If something doesn’t fit, that may be a clue to what does.
I’m a fan of priming the engine, so to speak. Grab a book of melodies, write out the solfege. Sing the solfege and then alternate with singing the parent scale.
so - so la - so do ti ...
then
do re mi fa so la ti do, do ti la so fa mi re do
…repeat as necessary. Accuracy in educated guesses increases with practice.
Folks wrestling with key signatures while working on solfege might want to check out books like the following where having everything in Cmaj/Amin translates nicely…
Ideally you get to a point where you can “feel” the degree of the note against the key aka the 5th or so always gives the same sensation regardless of the key, even between major and minor it’s still the same, but a little harder to get it.
Before you get to that point you can work it out on your instrument. Simpler music (and not so simple too) will be very heavily chord tone based.
Short answer - familiarity, and it won’t work ending on any other syllable.
Listen to the melody a few times, and identify the most stable note (the tonic, often the last note of a tune). That’s do.
You’ll know when your ear is developing when the syllables reveal themselves after just hearing a few notes.
I’d suggest to try making your own though. Write down a few random syllables ending on do, play them and see how it sounds. Helps if you can have a drone of the tonic playing in the background, or even a repeating V I chord progression.
It’s all a matter of perspective in the end, and whatever works is valid. There’s no cheating ever.
The way that works for me: The Root (aka 1) is always Do regardless of key or mode considerations. It’s probably not the easiest way but it relates everything to a single concept, and that’s worth it if you ask me.
The first two on your list should be One Note Complete (recognize a single pitch’s degree against a key) and Contextual Ear Training (sing a single pitch against a key). So that’s both sides of the coin if you will.
I believe they were on Spotify at one point so you may have a chance to check them out there first. Good luck!
Haha, I wouldn’t have known what @BubbaMc was talking about until recently. Unfortunately I was taught “key-hopping” before I was taught the real nature of the instrument.
Indeed, fine. I just like to be able hear other ranges sharing structure, working independently.
do re mi
fa so la
so la ti
Useful for singing a melody through changes that readily detour, where the detour is not as evident sung from the perspect of a single chord. And, I found myself getting away from a “one bias” when I could hear structures from any point in a scale.
So many different ways to approach this stuff, keeping the brain engaged and interested.
You just need 12 pieces of paper or cardboard and the scale degrees (1,b2,2… all the way up to 7) in the middle.
What I’ve added to that is:
Upper Left: Chord or Triad Qualities
Upper Right: Half Steps of the interval to the tonic (12 tone style)
Lower Left: Note of the degree in the Key of C
Lower Right: Haven’t thought of something yet (inversion maybe)…
Ok, the only rules are:
always start with your “cards” face down so you can’t tell what’s next.
always shuffle “the deck” before starting
Here’s a couple of exercises, please feel free to share other ones you come up with:
Ex1
1st draw is the key
2nd draw is the chord quality
Put both cards back in the deck and re shuffle it
Sing every interval over the established chord
4a. Move the voicing through the cycle of 4ths/5ths and do the same on all 12 keys
4b. Move to the next inversion of the voicing and repeat the process
Ex2
1st one is the interval and 2nd one is the key
Name it FAST! The better you get the shorter it has to be
Do it in reverse: 1st one is the key and 2nd one the interval
Ex3
1st card is the key, play that note
2nd one is another degree, sing and then play to test yourself
Ex4
1st draw is the key and 2nd one is chord quality (or in reverse)
Play a line over it (start with 4/4)
Re shuffle and repeat step one
Play another line over the next chord that “makes sense” (similar rhythms, continues direction, uses the same intervallic ideas, comes from similar scales/vibe…) after the first one
(But yeah, you did answer some things 
)
