"The Basics of Sight-Singing & Dictation" (OMT) - Read the section: Strategies for Dictation.

Melodic Dictation: Practice transcribing stepwise minor melodies played by your instructor. Work through the following steps: 

• • Hearing 1: Conduct while you listen and count the number of measures in the example. Set up your staff and your dot grid above the staff (see the reading for this week). Try to sing back (in your mind) any of the melody that you can remember. 

  • Hearings 2–3: Focus on the rhythm. Conduct while you listen, following along with the dots you set up above each measure. Take down as much of the rhythm as you can remember using slash/dash notation above your dots. Take your best guess, don't be afraid to make a mistake.  In the next hearing, repeat the step above, checking your work and adding in any missing rhythms. 

  • Hearings 4–5: Focus on the melody, practicing the new protonotation stragegy. Don't worry about putting pitches on the staff, just take down solfege (D, R, M, F...) and contour lines above your rhythmic notation. On the 5th hearing, check your work and fill in any missing pieces. 

  • Hearing 6: Translate your contour lines and solfege into staff notation and try to sing it back uisng solfege syllables quietly while conducting. Listen to the melody played one final time by your instructor, focusing on any errors in the rhythm or melody. Make final corrections. 

  • Sing your melody back as a class with solfege while conducting.