Read music with the eyes of an Ancient Musician
How did a Baroque Musician read Music?
How did a Renaissance Musician think about Music?
How did an Ancient Musicus Practicus feel Music?
And how wonderful would it be if you had the same power?
Did you know that...
Guidonian Hand (An invention attributed to Guido of Arezzo)
Did you know that there are actually only 6 musical notes?
Have you ever heard of Hexachords?
Did you know that the note B is a very recent invention?
In the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and up to the Baroque period, Musici Prattici read music in a very particular way, based on scales of only six sounds: Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La.
This very fascinating method began to fall out of use in the 18th century, until it was completely replaced by the modern methods of fixed Do and movable Do.
A proof of how widely used and established this method was is given by the enormous quantity of Guidonian hands depicted in various ways and sources.
How does Hexachordal Solmisation work?
Hexachordal solmization is a highly refined language based on a dual system: the 20 letters of the Great Scale, and the 6 syllables of the Hexachord.
The union and interaction between these two systems make it possible to navigate through the entire natural musical system, and this is what gives rise to the ancient names of the notes called both with syllables and with letters: C sol fa ut, D la sol re, E la mi, F fa ut, G sol re ut, A la mi re, B fa B mi.
The union between the Great Scale and the Hexachord in G. C. Marinelli's "Via retta della voce corale" Bologna 1671
The image you see here on the left, which will accompany you throughout the fascinating journey of discovering Solmisation, represents the system of interaction between the 20 letters of the Great Scale and the 6 syllables of the Hexachord.
This magical system contains all the knowledge of Practical Music for the ancient musician: from melodies to counterpoint, modes, from Canto Figurato (Polyphony) to Plainchant!
Moreover, it is the same system represented in the Guidonian Hand!
In short, knowing Solmisation means having great magical power: all the knowledge and musical wisdom in the palm of your hand!
But how do you learn Solmisation?
Where do you begin?...
And most importantly, how do you navigate in this world so fascinating and yet mysterious?
Discover the plan I've laid out for you, and get ready to change your perspective on music forever!
Because once you grasp Solmization, you'll never see music the same way again, even if you tried!
There are things you can only see with Solmisation
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What is and how does the Great Scale work?
What are the Musical Proportions of Pythagoras' Monochord?
What do the 20 letters indicate?
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How did the hymn to Saint John the Baptist change the history of music?
Where do the names Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La come from?
What is the magic behind the hexachord?
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What happens when we combine the magic of the hexachord with the solidity of the Great Scale?
How many note combinations do we obtain?
What does "A la mi re" mean? And "C sol fa ut"?
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How to easily remember the Great Scale, to always have it at hand?
How does the Guidonian Hand work?
How to use the Guidonian Hand to learn how to sing?
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How many musical clefs are there?
Why are they called C sol fa ut, F fa ut, and G sol re ut?
Where are they located on the Great Scale?
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Which Hexachords should be used when the nature of the song is B hard (B durus)?
How to perform Mutation, that is, how to switch from one hexachord to another?
How to read an entire melody written in B Hard?
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How to read a melody with leaps in Solmisation?
Why does the interval of a fifth exist from Fa to Fa?
Why is the octave in Solmisation called Re La?
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Guided Exercises
What does the rhyme "Una nota super la semper est canendum Fa" mean, and what is a Fa super La?
What is chromaticism? And how does it work?
Why is the Custos not actually needed to indicate the first note of the next staff? What's its true meaning?
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How to put Solmisation into practice?
What is the best way to read and sing a Bicinium?
What principles, rules, and tips do you need for solmizing when the nature of the song is B hard?
Let's practice!
In this stage, you will practice like an authentic Renaissance Musicus by reading original books!
The 15 Solmize-Along videos will help you learn simply by listening and repeating!
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Which Hexachords should be used when the nature of the song is Bsoft (B mollis)?
How to perform Mutation, that is, how to switch from one hexachord to another?
How to read leaps in B soft?
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How to put Solmisation into practice when the nature of the song is B soft?
What is the best way to read and sing a Bicinium in B soft?
What principles, rules, and tips do you need for solmizing a Kyrie in B soft?
Let's practice!
In this stage (in the same way you did in Stage 9), you will practice like an authentic Renaissance Musicus by reading original books!
The 15 Solmize-Along videos will help you learn simply by listening and repeating!
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What are Complementary Clefs and how do they work?
How to use the magical power of complementary clefs to change the nature of the song from B hard to B soft?
How does knowing complementary clefs help you become even better?
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What is Musica Ficta? And how does it work?
How to solmize a melody with 2 sharps or 2 flats (in the 17th century it was now practical to use accidentals)?
How to bring a melody with three, four, five, six sharps back to the nature of B hard or B soft?
You will learn all of that in this lesson!
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