I have a test in Solfege and I have trouble identifying intervals. I don't have musical hearing and I have never studied piano professionally. Therefore I struggle with identifying intervals through sound and also writing notes correctly in the staff. I know that there are systems that can help to identify intervals using popular songs. I want to know if there are any other methods that can help identify intervals?
2 Answers
Apart from the well-used 'parts of songs' idea, the other simple way is to be able to sing a simple major scale, using 'do, re, mi, etc.
Sing up and down - unless it's fixed do, it doesn't matter what the actual start note is, and when you've done that many, many times, try do - mi, do - mi - so, re - fa, and so on, just in one key, until you associate each name with a particular sound in that key Go backwards as well - do - ti - la, etc. With only seven names and sounds, it doesn't take too long. If needed, play on an instrument too. piano is best.
If you're able to sing the intervals and a repertoire of some popular songs, folksongs or children songs (baby songs) you will recognize these intervals in other tunes and you will also be able to adapt and transfer them to other melodies.
I always taught this methode that you mentioned together with the one that Tim has shown.
But the best is when you find out yourself which starting intervals of which songs you want to use as "key-model" like the coucou third or the sirene of the fire guides.
some exampels:
12345-54321
1231,1231,345-,345-
3212333-222-333-
5566 5-3-
more difficult will be a minor second or the tritonus and a minor seventh:
I always used "für Elise" (mirimiri) and from Weststide Story:"Maria" (dofeso, and "There's a place for us" dotalafare)
very helpful was to me - I remember my first lessons in solfege - was to invent my own songs and tunes for each interval. But this was only one per week.
Furthe it is very helpful to train the chords like triades, tetrades diminished and augmented chords and the sixth chords applying the solfege sillables.