A lot of successful singers, even those leading bands or recording albums, sign up for lessons because they feel that a lack of understanding of music theory affects their confidence when performing. At Arabella’s Voice Studio, we’ve developed a “practice flow” centered on vocalizing theory that you can easily incorporate into your lessons or home practice routine.

After warming up your voice, here are some targeted techniques to try:

Listen

Singing isn’t just about perfect technique; it’s also about feeling. Ask yourself questions like: How does this song make you feel? What emotional impact does it have on the listener? This emotional analysis can reveal a lot about the theoretical framework used in the song.

Next, pay attention to what stands out musically. Is there a catchy melody, a surprising chord change, or a powerful vocal moment that grabs your attention? Take note of the rhythm and groove—whether it’s steady or syncopated, simple or complex. Also, listen to the song’s structure and how the chords interact with the melody. This will help you identify the key musical elements and understand how they work together to create the emotional impact you noticed earlier.

Practical Exercise:
Set a timer for five minutes and jot down your observations.

Identify the Key of the Song

To find the key of a song, start by looking at the sheet music, if you have it, and check the key signature—the group of sharps or flats at the beginning of the staff. This tells you what scale the song is based around. If you don’t have the sheet music, you can identify the key by finding the tonic, or “home” note of the song. Hum or sing along until you find the note that feels stable throughout the song. This note will be “Do” in solfege and serves as the tonal center of the song.

Understanding the key is crucial for vocalizing theory because it determines which scales you should focus on during warm-ups and exercises. Singing the right scale helps you internalize the song’s harmonic structure and improves your pitch accuracy.

Practical Exercise:
Try humming along to identify the key center. If you’re not sure where “Do” is by listening, verify the note you chose by identifying the key signature in the sheet music, or look up the key online. This info is usually available with a quick search of the song title followed by “key.” Once you know the key, you can start building the scale.

Visually Build the Scale

Every major and minor scale follows a specific pattern of whole (W) and half (H) steps. For a major scale, the formula is W W H W W W H. For example, in C major, starting on C, you would move up a whole step to D, another whole step to E, then a half step to F, and so on. Mapping out the scale this way not only helps you understand the relationships between the notes but also reinforces your ability to sing the scale with confidence.

If you’re working in a minor key, the pattern shifts slightly. To find the natural minor scale, identify the sixth note of the major scale and start from there. For instance, in the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B), the sixth note is A. So, to create the A minor scale, you would write the notes as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A. Another way of thinking about this is that the major and minor scales have the same notes, in a different order.

Practical Exercise:
Write down the scale using the formula and sing it using solfege. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try building and singing the relative scale.

• Major scale in solfege: Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
• Minor scale in solfege: Do Re Me Fa Sol Le Te Do

Analyze the Chords

Start by identifying the chords and how they relate to the key. This is where Roman numerals come into play. Roman numerals represent the chords based on the scale degrees of the key you’ve identified. For example, in C major, the chords might be C (I), F (IV), and G (V). These numerals help musicians easily recognize the song’s harmonic structure, which is essential for transposing or rearranging the song. As you analyze the chords, think about how they contribute to the overall feel of the song. Are the chords diatonic, meaning they stay within the key? Or do they borrow from another scale, adding tension and intrigue?

Practical Exercise:
Sing the root notes of the chords or try singing the chord tones using solfege.

Recap

To build understanding and train your ears, remember these steps:

• Visually build the scale from the song (W W H W W W H).
• Sing scales with solfege.
• Sing root notes from the chords or sing chord tones using solfege.

Learning music theory through singing offers a range of unique benefits. By vocalizing scales, intervals, and chord progressions, you not only deepen your understanding of theory but also train your ear to recognize pitch relationships in real-time. Singing makes abstract concepts like key signatures, harmonies, and modulations more tangible. It also reinforces muscle memory, making it easier to internalize scales and chord structures. Plus, singing connects theory to your voice, allowing you to physically feel the music, which enhances your ability to apply theory in practical performance and improvisation settings.