I learned more in this 20-minute video than in 2 years of undergraduate musicianship class. Thanks so much for breaking everything down clearly and concisely! :D
@@rockstarvolkov4256 aha well the way it was set up for this at least was they play the chord, I have 4 minutes to go over a sheet and rehearse the piece, then they play the chord again and I start. What consistently happens is that in the 4 minutes, I get entirely lost as to my starting pitch, and end up shifting a few semitones just so it fits my range (I'm pretty limited haha) better. Then when they play the chord again there's always an awkward moment where I realise I've shifted the tonic by at least 2 tones xD
Thanks very much! This video is really really helpful! Here's a quick recap for my future reference. Step 1: Prepare your page: Clef, Key Signature, Time Signature, Rhythm Grid Step 2: Establish your key - "Lock in" tonic [First rule of aural skills: never forget 'do'] Step 3: While physically keeping the beat, complete the rhythm grid in real time [Cross the grid when notes fall on the beat, add a dot when the notes fall off the beat, add a bar if the note is being held. ] Step 4: Try to memorize the melody. Then write in solfege below. [Line up with rhythm/correct beat] [HINT: working backward] Step 5: Transfer rhythm & pitch to the staff [HINT: Familiar yourself with solfege/staff orientation in your key/clef, especially tonic triad]
I'm literally praying to you as my music theory god cause I've literally been failing at these in class for months, and now I've been blessed with this video so hopefully I'll get a 5 on my AP Music Theory Exam. Thank you so much!!!
Harfenqueen- yes, you can use the rhythm grid with subdivisions. For sixteenth notes you can either include 3 small dots between beat tick marks (to indicate that 4 notes occurred in the space of one beat). Or, sometimes I advise my students to set up their rhythm grids with subdivisions- so smaller tick marks in between the larger to indicate the eighth note subdivision. With more complex rhythms, this is probably a good idea. As for triplets- I'd recommend adding two small dots in between tick marks (to indicate 3 notes in one beat)- but would add a 3 above the notes to remind myself that they were of equal length (triplets). Hope that helps- let me know if you need any clarification.
I really appreciate this. Thank you very much for taking the time to make this video. Obviously watching this doesn't mean I know how to do it (yet! --practicing a growth mindset..) but at least now I have an idea on how to start! Ah, I definitely need a lot of practice.
Great methodology! The rhythmic grid struck me as an interesting approach. I personally have found that, once I have the rhythm down, I may as well just write the notes out, rather than marking down solfège. Two things your method is right on the nose about are to never forget the tonic pitch, and to memorize the melody as soon as possible. Absolutely no doubt about those!
THANK YOU!! You don’t understand how helpful this is to me! Tomorrow i’m taking the AP Music Theory exam and i’ve been having panic attacks about it because, let’s just say, my teacher isn’t that great at teaching... He would always say “mark down the rhythm before to make it easy” but he never showed us how, so i would have just mark’s on the top of my page without knowing wth they meant. So thank you so much! This will definitely make it easier for me in the exam. Now time to stress about the other sections 😂 such as sight singing.
Next saturday will be my College entrance exam. This really helped me to make dictation less confusing 🥺❤️ Thank you!! Will update you when I got the results next month ❤️
Yes. (BTW- sorry it's taken me 2 years to reply- I don't check youtube comments often enough, apparently!) The way I recommend using it with sixteenth notes is to subdivide your rhythm grid (so maybe you have tall hash marks for downbeats, and shorter ones for eighth note upbeats, then you just mark your sixteenth note dots between hash marks, or eighth note marks on the shorter hashes. For triplets, maybe you just add in the triplet (3/brace) above, to indicate those?
Dear Kelley - I am in music school and my teacher has our dictation exams setup like this: We only get to know that our tonic note is C, which clef we’re in, and that the bottom number of the meter is 4. I’m struggling with this because I can’t feel the meter. We don’t have a count in, so the notes just start playing. I can’t set up my grids because it could be 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4. We only get 2 - 3 listenings, depending on length of excerpt (usually 10-15 notes) So we don’t start on the tonic usually, we don’t know the meter, and only 3 maximum listens. I’m struggling so much because I have to memorize the melody, and try to figure out the meter and then write it down with rhythm and solfedge 😭 it’s so hard
Hi Max. That does make things more complicated. What if you set up a rhythm grid with no measure lines first? Say assume it’s 4/4 for how ever measures (sounds like you don’t know the number of measures. So let’s say the average is 16 beats- set up 16 rhythm ticks. Then still go through and mark the grid like I suggest- the only thing you’ll need to do differently is go back later and fill in the bar lines. Are you doing ok determining the meter after a listen or 2? Try listening for accented beats and harmonic (or implied harmonic) changes. Especially with such few listenings, it can be really helpful to use your first listen to JUST listen. Close your eyes and really try to commit the melody to memory. Then you can “play it back” in your memory and try and mark down some of the rhythm grid notation and/or solfege syllables. Good luck!
@@kpoche Dear Kelley - Thank you so much for your reply. Your advice to just set up the rhythm ticks is genius!! I am struggling to determine the meter in general, I just have a hard time feeling the downbeats unless its obvious. my teacher also recommended trying to just listen, and commit it to melody. I just tend to lose it after 2 measures or if there are many eighth notes.
Hi, thanks for the video! My only concern is that I struggle to memorize 4 bars, I can only Memorize 1/2 bars at a time with the timing and the notes. How would I be able to work on that, so that I can memorize the whole melody played whether it has to do with timing or the notes?
I’d recommend focusing on the very end first- as it’s the most recently heard thing, it’s the freshest. Plus after one hearing you’ll have an idea of the length. Work on notating that. Then the second time plan to pay the most attention to the next to last bit and actively try to keep that for most in your thought. As far as training yourself to memorize longer snippets- try practicing. Just Google random dictation exercises and play them with the focus of just retaining the melody. Really clear your mind and take a deep breath before playback starts and focus really intently. Then see how much you can sing back to yourself. Maybe start with 2-bar exercises. Then expand to 4, 6, and 8. I think with practice you can do it. Good luck!
Hello, Kelley! Please advise how you made this video. I mean how did you manage to draw and erase on top of the note staff? How can I make the background like that? Thanks.
Yes but I would like to see you do this without humming it .Try without any humming to confirm what you think you hear in your memory recall. Straight from your mind onto the paper. Seems simple but try it lol. One other rule. No replaying the piece to refresh your memory.
Yes, I am a fan of silent audiation. The main reasons I did not address that in this video were (1) the number of other concepts I needed to address, and it's already a 20 minute (!) video, and (2) I have yet to figure out a way to demonstrate audiation. lol. I mean that I want students to follow my inner process (hence humming). But, definitely agree that the ability to recall the melody and reproduce it internally, silently, is an important skill.
In my exam we're not given the key signature beforehand, we need to figure it out. We're given the note A, and then going from that we need to figure out the key signature. Any pointers?😅 Cause I sometimes get confused
I definitely recommend trying to memorize the tune. By not writing, you're able to fully devote your attention to listening and memorizing. Then you can "play it back" in your head and mark the rhythm grid. I know it may be frustrating, but it's actually really helpful to just listen and not write. Good luck! You can do it!
Hi, I've got a question. Is there any benefit to using solfege instead of scale degree numbers when doing these exercise?? Using numbers instead of the syllables just seems more simple to me, but maybe I'm missing something. Thanks!
Sam Kroes Hi Sam- good question. Both numbers and somewhere serve the same ends. I prefer solfege, from a singing standpoint- vocally the syllables are more intuitive; and I find the chromatic alterations easier (fi, te, vs sharp 4, flat 7). But honestly, I think it’s just a matter of preference. If you find using numbers effective, go for it! One thing I love about music theory (and one way in which I find it very similar to math) os that there are often many different ways for doing something. Find the one that works best for you!
For sixteenth notes I’d recommend 8 tick marks instead of 4 (assuming 4/4)- and make every other one taller ( so on the beat ticks are taller and upbeats are shorter). Same thing for 6/8- 1 tall mark + 2 short ones + 1 tall one + 2 short ones. Make sense?
Classical Music Lover Is recommending drawing the slash through all of beat 1 and half of beat 2, then a second slash in the second half of beat 2 for the following eighth note. That way it shows you that 2 notes happen between Beats 1 & 3, but that the second note comes after beat 2.
Classical Music Lover if you’re using sixteenth notes, I’d recommend setting your grid up with 4 tall tick marks and 4 shorter ones in between to represent the “and” if the beat. Then apply the same concept I mentioned before: so for a dotted eighth-sixteenth, your slash would extend all the way through the first talk tick and halfway past the second, shorter rock, then you’d put another slash between that and the next beat to represent the sixteenth note.
FelMusik Is recommend doing the same thing but just double. You can put a grid above and below and just decide which you want to focus on which hearing. Then you can also use your knowledge of theory to help you decide if you have any mistakes (ie. 2 notes sounding together that would clash- unless what you heard also clashes). I’ve been saying for awhile that I need to make another video for harmonic dictation. It’s in my to do list! :)
I will waiting for that! and thank you for your hints!! everyday I practicing dictades but Its take me a lot of time complete 2 voices dictades, nos Im getting more used to it, lets see these months and take your system Its really helps but need to practice everyday!
oh, god, this "lock-in tonic" is definitely nothing for me... I have perfect pitch and hearing an e flat and someone singing "do" to it just makes me vomit.
I learned more in this 20-minute video than in 2 years of undergraduate musicianship class. Thanks so much for breaking everything down clearly and concisely! :D
Ah- I’m so glad to hear that. Thanks!
Same!
what a generic yet entirely nonsensical comment.
No one:
Not a soul:
Me: *uses the 5th instead of the tonic as the first note every time*
hey so i just had the exam today and can you guess what i did
@@JecIsBec XD, how did it go? Don't they tell you what note to start on???
@@rockstarvolkov4256 aha well the way it was set up for this at least was they play the chord, I have 4 minutes to go over a sheet and rehearse the piece, then they play the chord again and I start.
What consistently happens is that in the 4 minutes, I get entirely lost as to my starting pitch, and end up shifting a few semitones just so it fits my range (I'm pretty limited haha) better. Then when they play the chord again there's always an awkward moment where I realise I've shifted the tonic by at least 2 tones xD
THE RHYTHM TRICK MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
Glad it helped!
I second this.
Thanks very much! This video is really really helpful!
Here's a quick recap for my future reference.
Step 1: Prepare your page: Clef, Key Signature, Time Signature, Rhythm Grid
Step 2: Establish your key - "Lock in" tonic [First rule of aural skills: never forget 'do']
Step 3: While physically keeping the beat, complete the rhythm grid in real time [Cross the grid when notes fall on the beat, add a dot when the notes fall off the beat, add a bar if the note is being held. ]
Step 4: Try to memorize the melody. Then write in solfege below. [Line up with rhythm/correct beat] [HINT: working backward]
Step 5: Transfer rhythm & pitch to the staff [HINT: Familiar yourself with solfege/staff orientation in your key/clef, especially tonic triad]
Thanks for summarizing that- that's a great idea!
dont forget phrasing .in my junior certificate music exam phrasing is worth 4 marks !!
My exam is coming and I was confused about the way to write the melodic dictation. You helped me a lot! I hope I can do my exams! Thank you so much!
Great- I'm so glad it helped!
Same!
Same
Same
I'm literally praying to you as my music theory god cause I've literally been failing at these in class for months, and now I've been blessed with this video so hopefully I'll get a 5 on my AP Music Theory Exam. Thank you so much!!!
I’m glad you found it helpful! Best of luck with your AP Exam!
the most helpful I have seen, thank you. Please do not stop doing it.
Thank you!
That rhythm trick @ 3:15 is awesome! Thanks :)
Harfenqueen- yes, you can use the rhythm grid with subdivisions. For sixteenth notes you can either include 3 small dots between beat tick marks (to indicate that 4 notes occurred in the space of one beat). Or, sometimes I advise my students to set up their rhythm grids with subdivisions- so smaller tick marks in between the larger to indicate the eighth note subdivision. With more complex rhythms, this is probably a good idea.
As for triplets- I'd recommend adding two small dots in between tick marks (to indicate 3 notes in one beat)- but would add a 3 above the notes to remind myself that they were of equal length (triplets). Hope that helps- let me know if you need any clarification.
I really appreciate this. Thank you very much for taking the time to make this video. Obviously watching this doesn't mean I know how to do it (yet! --practicing a growth mindset..) but at least now I have an idea on how to start! Ah, I definitely need a lot of practice.
sweet baby jesus...ill be unstoppable now.
Thank You!!
just came out of my undergraduate aural finals, this video literally saved my life! thank you so much for the tips :)
Great methodology! The rhythmic grid struck me as an interesting approach.
I personally have found that, once I have the rhythm down, I may as well just write the notes out, rather than marking down solfège.
Two things your method is right on the nose about are to never forget the tonic pitch, and to memorize the melody as soon as possible. Absolutely no doubt about those!
THANK YOU!! You don’t understand how helpful this is to me! Tomorrow i’m taking the AP Music Theory exam and i’ve been having panic attacks about it because, let’s just say, my teacher isn’t that great at teaching... He would always say “mark down the rhythm before to make it easy” but he never showed us how, so i would have just mark’s on the top of my page without knowing wth they meant. So thank you so much! This will definitely make it easier for me in the exam. Now time to stress about the other sections 😂 such as sight singing.
So glad to hear it helped. Good luck on your AP exam!
Omg..Thank you because I need a miracle.
Thanks so much for making this video! You're the best! I learnt alot!
This was seriously SO helpful, thank you!!!
Really helpful, great video
thank u so much, i was behind on my ap music theory but this helped me get it!
Extremely helpful, never stop please.
thanks so much for this! going to help with an exam fo sho :)
Thanks for your tips and thecnic. Its help me a lot😍
yes! YES! Yes! Thank you for this!!
and thank you for the useful tips throughout your video like how 3rds are either both on lines or spaces!
I'm glad it helped!
Thank you!!
It’s extremely helpful!
This was really helpful, thank you!
Great video ❤️💪🙏
I feel so much more confident on taking my final exam tomorrow!! Thank you so much!!
Great video! Thank you 感谢
Thank you thank you thank you!
Wow thank you a lot for that I'm new to sheet music and this has helped me Come miles in my revision for music exams please keep it up !
I'm glad to hear it!
Nice work. Thank you
Very helpful, thank you
Give me your powers, senpai!
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, it really helped me
Glad to hear it!
Very helpful!! DON'T stop please!!!!!
Making several examples to upload,so enlightening!
I love your cat and this video sm!!
😂😂 thanks!
At first I thought it was a baby.
helpful and cute
HELPFUL
thank you very helpful
Thank you!!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks alot🎉🎉🎉🎉
Next saturday will be my College entrance exam. This really helped me to make dictation less confusing 🥺❤️ Thank you!! Will update you when I got the results next month ❤️
So glad to hear it helped. Best of luck on your exam!
The video was very helpful, thank you so much!
But does this rhythm notation work with with sixteenth notes or triplets?
Yes. (BTW- sorry it's taken me 2 years to reply- I don't check youtube comments often enough, apparently!) The way I recommend using it with sixteenth notes is to subdivide your rhythm grid (so maybe you have tall hash marks for downbeats, and shorter ones for eighth note upbeats, then you just mark your sixteenth note dots between hash marks, or eighth note marks on the shorter hashes. For triplets, maybe you just add in the triplet (3/brace) above, to indicate those?
THANK YOU OMGGG
Thank you
kelley you're amazing
:) thank you!
I agree! Melodic dictation is one of my struggles. Kellie’s video puts you on the right path. The rest is up to us.
How to do it with dotted quarters and 16th notes?
Dear Kelley - I am in music school and my teacher has our dictation exams setup like this:
We only get to know that our tonic note is C, which clef we’re in, and that the bottom number of the meter is 4.
I’m struggling with this because I can’t feel the meter. We don’t have a count in, so the notes just start playing. I can’t set up my grids because it could be 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4.
We only get 2 - 3 listenings, depending on length of excerpt (usually 10-15 notes)
So we don’t start on the tonic usually, we don’t know the meter, and only 3 maximum listens.
I’m struggling so much because I have to memorize the melody, and try to figure out the meter and then write it down with rhythm and solfedge 😭 it’s so hard
Hi Max. That does make things more complicated. What if you set up a rhythm grid with no measure lines first? Say assume it’s 4/4 for how ever measures (sounds like you don’t know the number of measures. So let’s say the average is 16 beats- set up 16 rhythm ticks. Then still go through and mark the grid like I suggest- the only thing you’ll need to do differently is go back later and fill in the bar lines. Are you doing ok determining the meter after a listen or 2? Try listening for accented beats and harmonic (or implied harmonic) changes.
Especially with such few listenings, it can be really helpful to use your first listen to JUST listen. Close your eyes and really try to commit the melody to memory. Then you can “play it back” in your memory and try and mark down some of the rhythm grid notation and/or solfege syllables. Good luck!
@@kpoche Dear Kelley - Thank you so much for your reply. Your advice to just set up the rhythm ticks is genius!! I am struggling to determine the meter in general, I just have a hard time feeling the downbeats unless its obvious.
my teacher also recommended trying to just listen, and commit it to melody. I just tend to lose it after 2 measures or if there are many eighth notes.
Hi, thanks for the video!
My only concern is that I struggle to memorize 4 bars, I can only Memorize 1/2 bars at a time with the timing and the notes. How would I be able to work on that, so that I can memorize the whole melody played whether it has to do with timing or the notes?
I’d recommend focusing on the very end first- as it’s the most recently heard thing, it’s the freshest. Plus after one hearing you’ll have an idea of the length. Work on notating that. Then the second time plan to pay the most attention to the next to last bit and actively try to keep that for most in your thought.
As far as training yourself to memorize longer snippets- try practicing. Just Google random dictation exercises and play them with the focus of just retaining the melody. Really clear your mind and take a deep breath before playback starts and focus really intently. Then see how much you can sing back to yourself. Maybe start with 2-bar exercises. Then expand to 4, 6, and 8. I think with practice you can do it. Good luck!
@@kpoche Okay. Thank you so much for your response! My exam is tomorrow, so holding fingers!
Cat sang Do the whole time.
Hello, Kelley! Please advise how you made this video. I mean how did you manage to draw and erase on top of the note staff? How can I make the background like that? Thanks.
Mary Jane Hi. I used an app called educreations. I just imported an image of blank staff paper for those scenes and used the drawing tool.
Thank you very much for the useful video and the prompt reply!!!
Yes but I would like to see you do this without humming it .Try without any humming to confirm what you think you hear in your memory recall. Straight from your mind onto the paper. Seems simple but try it lol. One other rule. No replaying the piece to refresh your memory.
Yes, I am a fan of silent audiation. The main reasons I did not address that in this video were (1) the number of other concepts I needed to address, and it's already a 20 minute (!) video, and (2) I have yet to figure out a way to demonstrate audiation. lol. I mean that I want students to follow my inner process (hence humming). But, definitely agree that the ability to recall the melody and reproduce it internally, silently, is an important skill.
Hey :) good tips , thanks , thought first bar last note should be Eb no ? :)
Yes, indeed. Did you watch all the way to the end? :)
+kelley rodriguez yes I did :)
+Homayoon Kazemi good. Then you saw that I addressed and fixed that error as part of going through the proofreading process.
In my exam we're not given the key signature beforehand, we need to figure it out. We're given the note A, and then going from that we need to figure out the key signature. Any pointers?😅 Cause I sometimes get confused
Great video! But how would you the rhythm pattern for an exam?
I advise my students to just write in a rhythm grid above their dictation examples in their homework and exams.
Thank you!
Is there any way u write rests for this rhythm grid? Thanks!
koii hmm- you could maybe try an X Mark to indicate rest?
What if your not allowed to write while listening? What do you do then? How do I improve remembering the rhythm and notes?
I definitely recommend trying to memorize the tune. By not writing, you're able to fully devote your attention to listening and memorizing. Then you can "play it back" in your head and mark the rhythm grid. I know it may be frustrating, but it's actually really helpful to just listen and not write. Good luck! You can do it!
Aren't you placing the do where it would be in treble clef?
I have this very same question. Anyone else? Solutions?
Here Eb=do (using the moveable do system. Functional solfege, rather than fixed do).
Hi, I've got a question. Is there any benefit to using solfege instead of scale degree numbers when doing these exercise?? Using numbers instead of the syllables just seems more simple to me, but maybe I'm missing something. Thanks!
Sam Kroes Hi Sam- good question. Both numbers and somewhere serve the same ends. I prefer solfege, from a singing standpoint- vocally the syllables are more intuitive; and I find the chromatic alterations easier (fi, te, vs sharp 4, flat 7). But honestly, I think it’s just a matter of preference. If you find using numbers effective, go for it!
One thing I love about music theory (and one way in which I find it very similar to math) os that there are often many different ways for doing something. Find the one that works best for you!
*solfege (thanks autocorrect) 😂
Alright! All of that makes sense! I was just wondering. Thanks so much!!!
Final Exam here i come. thank you soo much for these tips
Haha how she can sing C when it’s E it’s very annoying. Anyway very helpful the rhythm trick thanks!
Rule #1: Forget your 'do' when in E-flat major (unless it is VI degree)
As I mentioned, I’m using moveable do, so here do represents the tonic, rather than C (fixed do).
How would you notate 16th notes and other note values? Also how would you approach 6/8?
For sixteenth notes I’d recommend 8 tick marks instead of 4 (assuming 4/4)- and make every other one taller ( so on the beat ticks are taller and upbeats are shorter). Same thing for 6/8- 1 tall mark + 2 short ones + 1 tall one + 2 short ones. Make sense?
@@kpoche that makes perfect sense, thank you!
How do you write down a dotted rhythm?
Classical Music Lover Is recommending drawing the slash through all of beat 1 and half of beat 2, then a second slash in the second half of beat 2 for the following eighth note. That way it shows you that 2 notes happen between Beats 1 & 3, but that the second note comes after beat 2.
kelley rodriguez Ok and dotted 8th notes? They are only within one beat
Classical Music Lover if you’re using sixteenth notes, I’d recommend setting your grid up with 4 tall tick marks and 4 shorter ones in between to represent the “and” if the beat. Then apply the same concept I mentioned before: so for a dotted eighth-sixteenth, your slash would extend all the way through the first talk tick and halfway past the second, shorter rock, then you’d put another slash between that and the next beat to represent the sixteenth note.
Hii, What can I do if I have 2 voices ?
FelMusik Is recommend doing the same thing but just double. You can put a grid above and below and just decide which you want to focus on which hearing. Then you can also use your knowledge of theory to help you decide if you have any mistakes (ie. 2 notes sounding together that would clash- unless what you heard also clashes). I’ve been saying for awhile that I need to make another video for harmonic dictation. It’s in my to do list! :)
I will waiting for that! and thank you for your hints!! everyday I practicing dictades but Its take me a lot of time complete 2 voices dictades, nos Im getting more used to it, lets see these months and take your system Its really helps but need to practice everyday!
FelMusik I’m so glad to hear it’s been helpful! Good luck!
The notes that you are writing are wrong in this clef.... i
Nope. Check again.
Moveable 'do' is for chumps.
oh, god, this "lock-in tonic" is definitely nothing for me... I have perfect pitch and hearing an e flat and someone singing "do" to it just makes me vomit.
Well, thanks for sharing.
Thank you