I'm currently doing homework from this textbook (Unfortunately, I don't have the name of the book), where there are these exercises:
Write the following scales in (treble/bass/tenor/alto) clef, ascending and descending. Use (accidentals/key signature) and mark the semitones with slurs:
- E major, from (dominant/mediant/supertonic/etc.) to (dominant/mediant/supertonic/etc.)
etc.
I don't have a lot of trouble doing the exercises in treble and bass clef and whenever using key signature, but - when it comes to writing in accidentals, in tenor/alto clef, or from [degree] to [degree], that's when I have frustrations.
Are there any tips for me to speed up writing these exercises? Is this like the multiplication table where I should just disregard trying to understand it, but just rote memorization?
For tenor/alto clef, I think I have to go with that route (rote memorization). After all, that's how I learned treble and bass clef - just do it a lot until you know where the notes are on those clefs.
For remembering key signature and accidentals, I could either derive them from the circle of fifths (for keysig) or remember the position of the keys on the keyboard (for accidentals). This is slow at the moment and when a key isn't in my memory, I have to walk through the keyboard in my head along with the "tone-tone-semitone-...".
Additionally, how should I sing/hum out (either out loud or in my head) the scales when I write them down? I could sing out the absolute note names "see-dee-ee-eff..." with pitches, or solfege "do-re-mi...". I thought that having "do" always corresponding to the tonic would be helpful in writing different modes and keys, but my history of fixed solfege is making this change really difficult.
Thank you,
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