117 Sight Singing Instructions

Tetrachords and Modes

• As we move towards the study of non-diatonic material in the coming weeks, we will prepare for the concept of the pitch-class set by using this possibly unfamiliar method of singing through the familiar modal scales.

In this exercise, we will sing each modal scale as two tetrachords (collections of four notes) that are spelled using pitch class sets. This term simply refers to a collection of notes that we identify using numbers from 0-11 – that is, each note of the chromatic scale is assigned a number. Therefore, if C is “0,” “1” will be a half-step above C – C-sharp or D-flat (either spelling is OK).

Sing the first tetrachord, then the interval that separates it from the second tetrachord. Lastly, sing the second tetrachord. Therefore, the Ionian scale will be sung like this: “0, 2, 4, 5, whole step; 0, 2, 4, 5.”

Instructions for Modal Melodies

We have studied the modal scales in many past classes. Two of the modes – Ionian and Aeolian – are very familiar to us as major and natural minor scales. But it requires a mental shift to sing in other modes.

• The Dorian mode, for example, sounds a lot like the minor mode, but the combination of la and te is often hard for learners to sing accurately.

• By the same token, the Mixolydian mode can sound like singing in major, but the la and te issue comes up here too.

• The Phrygian mode, because it contains ra, often feels very strange and foreign.

In this unit’s singing examples, you will notice that the practice for key signatures differs between composers.

• For example, the Saint-Saëns excerpt is written in the minor mode, with the tones that indicate Dorian mode notated as accidentals.

• By contrast, the examples by Heinrich Schütz and Thomas Tallis (which are both in E Phrygian) use the key signature of C major. It is therefore possible to sing a modal melody two ways. There is more than one way to sing these melodies: you could take E as do or C as do.