Curwen/Kodaly Solfege Hand Signs and Square Notes
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    Together on one PDF (for the first time?…)

    Here is a PDF that puts Curwen/Kodaly solfege hand signs together with their square-note-staff representations. This is potentially useful for those who wish to incorporate their Gregorian chant teaching/learning with popularly established kinesthetic methods of music instruction.

    Download it here.

    Using these signs, I taught a rather large group of 5-to-12-year-old children the following at a recently concluded parish day camp (15 minutes a day for five consecutive days):
    • Kyrie XVI (Greek and the ICEL simplified adaptation)
    • Sanctus XIII
    • Two settings of the Agnus Dei from the Graduale Simplex
    • The Communion antiphon of the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, as found in the Simple English Propers
    Thanked by 2Kathy kenstb
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    I've felt that way about FA for a long time and didn't realize that this opinion was shared by others.
  • Jeffrey CogginsJeffrey Coggins
    Posts: 360
    I love this.

    My only comment is that I was taught to sing "SOL" as "soh" ("soe", "so", or IPA: soʊ) for singing purposes only. The "L" in "SOL" is a little awkward to get in there while singing. In other words, "SOL" would be sung like "DO", but with an "S" instead of a "D".
  • musings
    Posts: 23
    LOVE IT!! Some of this depends on the relationship to belt and belly button. I use something quite similar in grades K-8 during the school year and my students have done quite well with it. This is more helpful for those students who are taking private lessons outside of general music class.

    BTW, Jeffrey, my students question me all the time about so v. sol. When we start to take down dictation, I tell them to use the first letter of the note name. AND we don't sing the L unless I am trying to impress the concept of the liquesent, so I add in M and N as well when we get there.
  • musings
    Posts: 23
    Yes, Noel, there always a detractor in every crowd!! How can fa redeem itself? ;->
  • Angelina
    Posts: 27
    Do you still have this PDF? The link didn't work for me.
  • Patricia Cecilia
    Posts: 400
    Here is Aristotle's Curwen/Kodaly/neumes pdf--so very useful! I thanked him profusely when he first posted it and do so again. (No pun intended :-)
    curwen-kodaly-square-notes.pdf
    64K
    Thanked by 1Angelina
  • Angelina
    Posts: 27
    This is terrific, (and I sol appreciated the pun)!
  • ClergetKubiszClergetKubisz
    Posts: 1,912
    Oh I swear by the Curwen signs for Solfege. All of my students can sing a major scale using solfege with no prompt or starting pitch.
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