Nobody practices solfèggio
Students don’t practice solfèggio for a panoply of reasons, most of which are good ones:
- Practicing it is boring
- They find it easy (they have good ears, good voices, and learn the syllables with little effort)
- It is difficult for them and they are not motivated to do well (the “I’ll take the C” crowd)
- They want to succeed but don’t have clear indicators to discern improvement. Some of these students practice a little, but not enough because they think they have “completed” practicing by running through exercises or because they give up in frustration.
Most students share the classic experience of sitting outside an office door, cramming melodies before performing for their professor, which is likely the only practice they put in before the exam. And, regardless of a student’s level of preparedness, many students will choke on a solfège exam because of bad nerves.
I’m going to take the following positions, which might not be shared by all music professors (but I imagine many of the points are common):
