Melodic Dictation: Frog in the Middle

Transcript

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman.
Today we are learning how to dictate the melody
of "Frog in the Middle" on the staff.
So let's come to the staff and give it a try.

Okay, to dictate a song means to put it down on paper
so we can remember it better, and share it with other people.
Just like those monks did hundreds of years ago.
For "Frog in the Middle,” do you remember what note it starts on in solfège?
That's right it starts on SO, and if we're in the C major pentascale, SO is on G.
So, our first note of "Frog in the Middle" will be right here on G.
How many G's at the start of "Frog in the Middle"?
If you said three you're correct. So, we'll need to draw three G's.

If you download the complete materials for Unit 2,
you'll be able to try this yourself using paper and pencil at home.
So, first draw three G's like this:

♫ Frog in the ♫

And then what happens next? That's right, it skips down.
Well, on the staff if you skip from SO down to MI, you go down to the next line.
Remember, there is a space note in between, but SO to MI is a skip.
So we go from this G line down to the next line down, which is E.
G G G E E
Or if we sing it in solfège it would be: SO SO SO MI MI.
Now, can you sing the solfège for the next phrase after?
Now sing the solfège for me of the next phrase.
If you sang SO SO SO MI, you're correct.
Which would be: SO SO SO MI, and these purple notes make

♫ Frog in the sea ♫

Now, can you point to the notes we’ve dictated and sing it in solfège?
Point with me and sing. Ready, go:
SO SO SO MI MI
SO SO SO MI
Good job!

Now, let's dictate the next part of "Frog in the Middle.”
Can you sing the next phrase in solfège for me? Go.
That's right, it's just like the first phrase: SO SO SO MI MI,
and then it ends with three DO's: DO DO DO.
Well, if we want to skip below MI down to DO,
we're going to need a ledger line, because remember,
whenever we go off the staff, we have to use a ledger line.
So let's add three ledger lines and three note heads for DO DO DO.
Now, can you point and sing the solfège of this for me? Ready, try it with me, go:
SO SO SO MI MI
DO DO DO
Good job.

Now let's try singing the whole song together in solfège while we point to it.
Point to it point with me and sing the solfège. Ready, go:
SO SO SO MI MI
SO SO SO MI
SO SO SO MI MI
DO DO DO
This time let's sing the letter names. We start on the G line,
so we'll sing G for this note, and then when we skip down we'll be on E,
then when we go down to the ledger lines we'll be on a C.
Ready? Point and sing the letters with me. Ready, go:
G G G E E
G G G E
G G G E E
C C C
Good job! Now we've dictated the melody of "Frog in the Middle.”

Great job today learning how to dictate "Frog in the Middle" on the staff.
From our website, if you download the complete materials for Unit 2,
you can practice drawing the notes yourself on the staff.
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.