Comments on: Dusting Off My Kodály http://www.michaelkaulkin.com/dusting-off-my-kodaly/ Composer and Teacher Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:12:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael Kaulkin http://www.michaelkaulkin.com/dusting-off-my-kodaly/#comment-181 Michael Kaulkin Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:52:13 +0000 http://www.aboutthecomposer.com/blog/archives/216#comment-181 Paul, I'm not sure I have an opinion about this, except to say that I agree with you about the notion of a circle of fouths being problematic. Actually, I'm trying to decide whether I even think the circle of fifths concept has any bearing on ear training. It certainly is important for understanding how keys relate to each other, but I'm not sure how it applies to sight singing, particularly at the beginning level. My choice of "ascending fourth" was fairly arbitrary, and I could have also said that the descending minor third of <i>so-mi</i> has a different function than that of <i>fa-re</i>. <i>So-do</i> is unambiguously cadential, as in V-I, whereas <i>do-fa</i> by nature has to be on the way to somewhere, whether it's back down to <i>do</i> via <i>mi</i> and <i>re</i> or up to <i>so</i> or <i>la</i> to form an inverted IV chord. Paul, I’m not sure I have an opinion about this, except to say that I agree with you about the notion of a circle of fouths being problematic.

Actually, I’m trying to decide whether I even think the circle of fifths concept has any bearing on ear training. It certainly is important for understanding how keys relate to each other, but I’m not sure how it applies to sight singing, particularly at the beginning level.

My choice of “ascending fourth” was fairly arbitrary, and I could have also said that the descending minor third of so-mi has a different function than that of fa-re.

So-do is unambiguously cadential, as in V-I, whereas do-fa by nature has to be on the way to somewhere, whether it’s back down to do via mi and re or up to so or la to form an inverted IV chord.

]]> By: Paul R. http://www.michaelkaulkin.com/dusting-off-my-kodaly/#comment-180 Paul R. Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:21:01 +0000 http://www.aboutthecomposer.com/blog/archives/216#comment-180 Hello, Michael, In the second paragraph above you mentioned the role of the ascending fourth. I would like to ask you whether you'd think that that had anything to do with perceiving the circle of fifths as a circle of fourths - which some of my students were exposed to by their band teachers. (I admit I have a problem with this latter approach as it turns all V-I relations on their head, in both theoretical and energetic sense.) Paul Hello, Michael,
In the second paragraph above you mentioned the role of the ascending fourth. I would like to ask you whether you’d think that that had anything to do with perceiving the circle of fifths as a circle of fourths – which some of my students were exposed to by their band teachers. (I admit I have a problem with this latter approach as it turns all V-I relations on their head, in both theoretical and energetic sense.)

Paul

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