ABSTRACT
Systems of solmisation have been used worldwide as mnemonic devices for aiding the understanding of melodic relationships and their internalisation, and thus facilitating the oral transmission of music. Similarly, Western solfège was born out of Guido’s desire to facilitate music (more specifically, chant) learning and to make notated music more easily accessible, through explicating musical structure and allowing its internalisation. Sol-fa syllables remained in use for centuries, and were eventually adapted to the tonal system. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, they were widely used in Europe for the teaching of music in school, as well as adult choirs. The practice of dictation, though hinted at by Guido, apparently was not as systematically used for centuries. Modern dictation in a way grew out of solfège: it had a subservient role in the teaching of sight-singing, and was valued for promoting the music analytic faculty of school children and choristers. The two came to be considered of equal value in the context of higher music education, as ‘ear-training’ courses that featured both activities were introduced by the Paris Conservatoire and gradually became a standard curriculum component across the Western world.
