The Recovering Choir Director

This tutorial will show the student of chant how to configure GNU Solfege to enable listening and singing exercises on the authentic Gregorian chant modes I, III, V and VII. The plagal modes II, IV, VI and VIII are related to the mode numerically preceding them; while this tutorial will not address the plagal modes directly, familiarity with these exercises will help the student identify the close relationship each plagal mode has to its authentic companion. The only prerequisite to this tutorial is that the student can recognize pitches. Terminology unfamiliar to the student will become more familiar once he begins to assimilate the tutorial into his mind’s ear.

Students and teachers who wish to follow this tutorial step-by-step are encouraged to download and install GNU Solfege and its supporting programs on their computer before continuing with the rest of the tutorial.

Part I - Nomenclature, Solfege, and Numbered Pitches

• A Final is a modal melody’s final resting point. For the authentic modes, the final is the lowest point of each modal scale.
• A Dominant corresponds to a modal melody’s reciting tone, a repeated musical pitch around which the other pitches of the chant gravitate, or by extension, the entire melodic formula that centers on one or two such pitches (cf. Wikipedia). In the examples below, the dominant is italicized and underlined.

Gregorian Mode I is also known as the Dorian mode. In “movable Do” solfege, the ascending Dorian scale may be sung “Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do-Re” and the descending Dorian scale may be sung “Re-Do-Ti-La-So-Fa-Mi-Re”. If one were to use a numbered scaling system, the Dorian scale may be sung “2-3-4-5-6-7-1-2″ ascending and “2-1-7-6-5-4-3-2″ descending.

Gregorian Mode III is also known as the Phrygian mode. In “movable Do” solfege, the ascending Phrygian scale may be sung “Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do-Re-Mi” and the descending Phrygian scale may be sung “Mi-Re-Do-Ti-La-So-Fa-Mi”. If one were to use a numbered scaling system, the Phrygian scale may be sung “3-4-5-6-7-1-2-3″ ascending and “3-2-1-7-6-5-4-3″ descending.

Gregorian Mode V is also known as the Lydian mode. In “movable Do” solfege, the ascending Lydian scale may be sung “Fa-So-La-Ti-Do-Re-Mi-Fa” and the descending Lydian scale may be sung “Fa-Mi-Re-Do-Ti-La-So-Fa”. If one were to use a numbered scaling system, the Lydian scale may be sung “4-5-6-7-1-2-3-4″ ascending and “4-3-2-1-7-6-5-4″ descending.

Gregorian Mode VII corresponds to the Mixolydian mode. In “movable Do” solfege, the ascending Mixolydian scale may be sung “So-La-Ti-Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So” and the descending Mixolydian scale may be sung “So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do-Ti-La-So”. If one were to use a numbered scaling system, the Mixolydian scale may be sung “5-6-7-1-2-3-4-5″ ascending and “5-4-3-2-1-7-6-5″ descending.

Part II - Configuring GNU Solfege

1. Open GNU Solfege.
2. Go to Scales > Major Scale and its modes > Major Scale and its modes
3. Click on the Config tab.
4. Under the heading “Questions to ask”, deselect Ionian, Aeolian, and Locrian.

Part III - Modal scales

1. Complete the configuration in Part II.
2. Click on the Practise tab.  You will notice that but buttons corresponding to the three deselected modes are disabled.
3. Click the New button to have GNU Solfege play one of the four modal scales. It will probably be played too quickly to recognize the first time around, so once the program has completed the scale, press the Repeat Slowly button at least once to hear the scale at half the original tempo.
4. Click the button of the mode you think corresponds to what you have just heard.
5. If your answer is incorrect, click the Repeat Slowly button and guess again.
6. If your answer is correct, GNU Solfege will display the scale in modern notation. Click the Repeat Slowly button and sing the scale to the corresponding solfege syllables and/or numbers as found above.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips that may help the student of chant guess the modes correctly from the outset. Remember though that guesswork is a poor substitute for true internalization.

• Of all the church modes, Mode I sounds most like today’s minor scale.
• Mode III is unique in that it starts ascending with a minor second or half-step, an interval known worldwide as the beginning of the theme to the film Jaws.
• Modes V and VII may be easily confused by the newcomer since, of all the church modes, they are most similar to today’s modern major scale - which, by the way, is also known as the Ionian mode. Mode V ends its ascension with a minor second or half-step; Mode VII does not.
• While singing the modal scale, it may benefit the student to sing each mode’s dominant pitch a bit longer than the other pitches to solidify in his mind’s ear the dominant’s relationship to the final.

Statistics

GNU Solfege allows its user to view his statistical progress over different periods of time:

• Session
• Today
• Last 7 days
• Total

Within an exercise, under the main menu bar click on the “Statistics” tab to see your performance over these time periods.

To-do

This tutorial eventually will include screenshots of GNU Solfege as well as visual examples of each of these intervals.

Feedback

I hope this tutorial is useful to both teachers and students of the chant. Constructive criticism of this tutorial is welcomed; feel free to provide feedback in the comments.

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