Article

International Journal of

Quantitative and qualitative

Music Education
28(1) 31–46
© The Author(s) 2010
assessment of solfège Reprints and permission: http://www.
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermission.nav
in a Brazilian higher DOI: 10.1177/0255761409351343
http://ijm.sagepub.com
educational context

Regina Antunes Teixeira Dos Santos

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Luciana Del-Ben
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract
This article reports on the feasibility of using the assessment criteria for solfège proposed by
Davidson, Scripp, and Meyaard as a way to assess a group of Brazilian undergraduate students.
The experiment was carried out in 2003, with 16 first-year students in a variety of majors, each
with different levels of previous music experience. The average age of the students was 20 years
old. Students’ performances of solfège were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed according to
the criteria proposed by Davidson and colleagues. Through the analysis, we found aspects that
were not predicted by the authors. The criteria of Davidson and colleagues for quantitative and
qualitative assessment were then adapted to our context and enlarged. An individual assessment
form was also introduced. The results suggest that the qualitative criteria provided guidelines to
the students for improving and fostering their approach to music reading procedures. Qualitative
criteria also provided a consistent means of self-assessment for the students’ vocal performance.

Keywords
assessment criteria and procedures, music reading, sight-singing, solfège, qualitative and quantitative
assessment

Within the context of professional training in music, the process of learning the western classical
tradition demands, among other things, developing music reading skills. One of the most ubiquitous
means through which music reading skills are developed and assessed is the solfège method
(Santos & Del Ben, 2004). Solfège involves at least two procedures. (1) Reading at first sight
(sight-reading), which may imply a certain number of mistakes made in at the first attempt at
interpreting the score. Sight-reading implies a certain degree of mastery of the melodic global

Corresponding author:
Regina Antunes Teixeira Dos Santos, University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
Email: jhsreg@adufrgs.ufrgs.br
32 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

contour without being concerned with eventual local mistakes. (2) Reading as a process to prepare
for performance after a personal and idiosyncratic construction of the interpretation.
Sight-reading in solfège practice is a very complex and difficult task and demands instructional
support in order to be developed. This skill requires the student to project, preview and hypothesize
characteristics of the contour to be scanned in order to decode and group patterns, in addition to
dealing with potentially problematic situations related to decoding and the selection of a suitable
means of expression.
Furthermore, solfège is an activity that, although it includes sight-singing (the ability to decode
a score and express it vocally by sight), embraces a broad scope of exercises that aim at developing
vocal production, perception of tone quality, awareness of rhythm and expression, analytical
understanding of various musical systems (e.g., tonal, modal and atonal) and internal hearing, just
to mention a few. Therefore, solfège in higher education music courses can provide highly special-
ized training so that the students – future professional musicians and music teachers – are able to
qualitatively interpret the symbols expressed in a score instead of reading them in a mechanically
or unmusical way. In other words, students who undertake the practice will not only be concerned
with accuracy in pitch and rhythm patterns but will also try to intentionally express the music
direction throughout the performance.
A variety of literature has discussed the importance of solfège in the development of a stu-
dents’ musical autonomy (e.g., Davidson & Scripp, 1988a,1988b; Demorest, 1998, 2001;
Karpinski, 2000; Welch & Sundberg, 2002; White, 2002). Nevertheless, most of these writings
are not concerned with the means of assessment of the solfège practice. In the sight-singing
program proposed by Davidson and Scripp (Davidson & Scripp, 1988a, 1988b; Davidson,
Scripp, & Meyaard, 1988; Davidson, Scripp, & Flechter, 1995) at the New England Conservatory
(Boston, USA), a series of resources (readings about cognition, writing a dialectic diary, portfo-
lio organization, etc.) is employed in solfège classes (Davidson & Scripp, 1988a, 1988b;
Davidson et al., 1988; Davidson et al., 1995). Additionally, the program at New England
Conservatory also includes a summative test for solfège assessment, taking into account both
quantitative and qualitative criteria.
In our higher education music theory class, conducted over a one-year period (2003–2004) at
the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, we developed a program based on the idea that
a music theory class should be a forum for exploring the interaction among a variety of ways of
knowing in terms of production, perception and reflection (see Davidson & Scripp, 1992) in sev-
eral activities, in particular performance, audition, composition and analysis, which are included in
the solfège practice. Our main question was whether the assessment criteria and procedures elabo-
rated by Davidson and his colleagues could be used in our educational context. Furthermore, we
investigated if such assessment tests could foster the development of music reading in undergradu-
ate students. This article reports on our experience investigating the feasibility of using Davidson
and his colleagues’ proposal (Davidson & Scripp, 1988a, 1988b; Davidson et al., 1988; Davidson
et al., 1995) as a way to assess a group of Brazilian undergraduate students. This article will, first,
elucidate the original proposal and, second, report the quantitative and qualitative results of both
the assessment criteria and the procedures in a Brazilian context.

Davidson and Scripp’s solfège teaching and assessment procedures

The solfège program developed at the New England Conservatory of Music is described in a series
of three articles (Davidson & Scripp, 1988a, 1988b; Davidson et al., 1988). It proposes several
strategies for solfège teaching, based on the following criteria: fixed-do pedagogy; use of mnemonic
Santos and Del-Ben 33

tools: syllabic solfège and conducting patterns; the combination of several modes of representation
(visual, kinesthetic and aural); and structural knowledge of the context and solving problems
approached in the performance, instead of materials memorization.
From a developmental perspective, as noted by Davidson and Scripp (1988a), solfège practice
is enriched when students link kinesthetic modes of representation to auditory image, i.e., when
they try to make imaginary connections between the movements performed on the instrument and
the internal image of the sound of the melodic line. The solfège practice, conceived as a personal
construction of a melody, requires procedures that embrace aural sensitivity of the spatial and tem-
poral dimensions of a melodic line, identification of problems, hypothesizing solutions and exper-
imenting with various strategies.
According to the description of the authors, the structure of the program includes two standard
tests, applied within a two-year course program, which are quantitatively analyzed (Davidson
et al., 1988). The first year’s test comprises a series of 19 melodies to be sight-read, four times a
year. In this test, the melodies grow in difficulty. The melodies were conceived within certain
patterns of melodic contour. These patterns are slightly changed, keeping the similarity between
melodies, and adding some structural differences in terms of rhythm, which can, in turn, imply
changes in the structural function of the implied harmonic degrees, of clefs (restricted to treble and
bass clefs), of mode (minor and major) and tempo and its implication in character. Figure 1 depicts
some examples of melodies based on the original test.
According to Figure 1, melody 1 is highly based on step motion. This melodic contour was kept
up through melody 4, with small changes in tempo and structural functions. In melody 6, the
articulation is predominantly in descending motion outlining the I–V–I degrees) at the beginning
of the melody, using leaps and dotted figures. Melody 11 demands the recognition of VI (m. 3), IV
(m. 5), and alternating steps and leaps. The phrasing is fragmented. The difficulty in melody 15
begins with the third degree, implying the tonic triad. The last melody implies larger rhythmic
variation and nuances. A brief tonicizing was applied. Leaps and descending steps were included
using chromatic semitone.
For each melody, there is a correction control guide, bearing indicators for rhythm and pitch and
aiming at the identification of the nature and location of the student’s error during the performance.1
The program also provides a qualitative assessment, comprising four behaviors that reveal princi-
ples of development through which it is possible to appraise changing levels of sight-singing: (1) focus
of attention; (ii) degrees of internalization; (iii) degrees of stability; and (iv) beyond the notation.
The level focus of attention is concentrated on the global situation of the student’s engage-
ment with the score during sight-singing. Therefore, examples of the aspects observed within the
reading procedure comprise the way that the melody is sung: fragmented, note-to-note, or sug-
gesting a global understanding of the line. Degrees of internalization describe the development
of increasingly internalized tonal space in structural and functional terms. According to the
authors, before singing, the need (or not) for tuning and warm-up procedures, for instance,
reflects the degree of the student’s development. Degrees of stability reveal levels of develop-
ment in terms of the stability and domain of the melodic line during the singing process. Beyond
the notation concerns the capacity to devote less attention to explicit elements (notes, pitches
and rhythms) in order to dedicate more attention to expressivity. Performing with appropriate
expressiveness is a constant requirement and is linked to the levels of development. The quality
of expressiveness depends on the degree of integration of the different levels of material (iden-
tification of notes, pitch and rhythm expression). Each of these behaviors is subdivided into
other aspects shown in Table 1. Further information can be found elsewhere (Davidson et al.
1988, pp. 61–67).
34 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

Figure 1.  Examples of melodies used in the test for solfège assessment

The solfège class at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul,

Brazil
The study reported here was carried out in 2003, during one academic year (two semesters). The
group was made up of 16 first-year students in different majors (music education, performance,
conducting and composition), with different previous musical experience. The students were, on
average, 20 years old. They were exposed to six hours of class, divided into three sessions per
week. The solfège class, through fixed-do pedagogy,2 took place two hours per week.
Following the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul program, and inspired by Davidson and
his colleagues’ principles, collective classes were based not only on sight-singing itself but also on
reflecting the structural context of each drill in problem-solving practice. Specifically concerned
with solving problems in solfège, the strategies involved filling in leaps with passing tones and/or
arpeggios in connection with triads, eventually leaving out notes to lessen the difficulty but always
preserving the melodic integrity, as suggested by Davidson and Scripp (1988a, p. 18).
In the solfège class, each exercise was preceded by collective warm-up procedures to tune
up the grounding tonic keys and the triad of basic structures (e.g., tonic, subdominant, dominant,
Santos and Del-Ben 35

Table 1.  Qualitative assessment procedures to sight-singing

ability,* according to Davidson et al. (1988, p. 61–67)

Behaviors Observed aspects

Focus of attention Reading processes

Eye contact in ensemble
Degrees of internalization Tuning and warm-up procedures
Naming notes
Unit of memory
Degrees of stability Effect of miscue
Scale reference
Modulation
Intonation
Effects of mistakes
Beyond the notation Expressivity
Unit of analysis
*For each of these observed aspects, the authors detailed three levels of
development (Davidson et al., 1988).

tonic). After warming up, the students individually observed the exercises during a brief period
and then started reading the melodic line. The performance of one student was then evaluated by his/her
colleagues, who commented on what happened and what could be improved, and, whenever
possible, tried to demonstrate how to perform the exercise with their own vocal emission and
interpretation of the melody. In this context, the appreciation was not only restricted to pitch accuracy
and rhythm expression, but also included aspects of expressivity such as expressive character,
phrasing and metric expression qualities, locating breathing points, and the recapitulation of
materials and cadences. The students were encouraged to practice the melodies after class.
The search for this integration in music-making was achieved by a set of complementary activ-
ities, including:

1. Practice of the solfège drills, emphasizing expressive singing. The production was supposed
to go beyond accuracy of pitch and rhythm, and into the domain of phrasing and of remark-
ing on the characteristics of the rhythmic structures, implicit harmonic structures, dynamics
and expressive character. The approach was focused on the quality of the performance.
2. Improvisation on the solfège drills or composition of variations on the studied solfège melodies.
3. Audition of the solfège drills performed by the classmates (a sort of aural analysis), since
this activity allows the perception of several musical dimensions.

Reflective practice was encouraged in every activity because this approach helps the students to
master procedures and to develop their musical understanding.
In this context, the formal assessment procedures were undertaken according to the structure
presented by Davidson et al. (1988). A test composed of a series of 19 melodies, from one available
exemplar used at the New England Conservatory, was used. This test was introduced in music
theory classes at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul by Professor Gerling, who received
an exemplar of one of these tests from Professor Scripp. Exploratory research on the use of this test
in Brazil was carried out in 1993–95, and partial results are reported elsewhere (Gerling, 1995).
In our classes, this test was applied four times, at the beginning and at the end of each of
two academic semesters in 2003 (March, July, September and December). Each test was applied
36 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

individually to each student in the regular class period. All the tests were recorded with a minidisk
system and then transcribed in order to provide an individual assessment for each student and a
formal record for the teacher to reflect on the solfège practice.
First, students’ performances of solfège were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed accord-
ing to the criteria proposed by Davidson et al. (1988). Through the analysis, we found aspects that
were not predicted by Davidson et al., such as the level of rhythm accuracy. It is worth noting that
the criteria proposed by the authors aimed to assess the development of sight-singing ability. The
focus centered on the mastering of music reading skills. In our context, because of the diversity of
students’ previous musical training, we had to utilize tools that would help students to develop
ways of improving while performing the drills. Based on the criteria proposed by Davidson et al.
(1988), in conjunction with the needs and characteristics experienced in the context of our music
theory classes, specific assessment criteria were developed, which were adapted to our teaching
reality. The criteria for quantitative and qualitative assessment reported by Davidson et al. (1988)
were then adapted to our context (Santos, 2003).

Results and discussion

The quantitative aspect of the solfège assessment in theory classes is depicted in Figure 2, which
shows the total number of melodies successfully performed as a function of the number of the
students who achieved this amount for each test.
According to Figure 2, the means of the melodies accurately sung for each test were 2, 10, 10
and 11 in Tests 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The number of successfully sung melodies increased
during the academic year. The maximum number of accurately performed melodies shifted from
10 to 19 melodies from the first to the last application.
Figure 3 shows the total number of melodies sight-sung with accuracy, organized into three
groups of students:

1. Group I: students who have shown an increase in the number of melodies successfully sung
from Test 1 to Test 2, but thereafter attained a plateau in the other tests;
2. Group II: students who have shown an increase in the number of melodies sung from Test 1
to Test 2, which was maintained or decreased in Test 3, but increased in Test 4;
3. Group III: students who have shown a continuous increase in the number of melodies sung
with accuracy.

The number of students belonging to each group is almost the same (five or six students in
each group).
In the case of Group I, in the Test 1 (diagnostic assessment), these students could correctly sing
the first two to four melodies. During the sight-singing procedures, they showed that the notes still
function as a set of symbols to be decoded, suggesting a lack of acquaintance with the implicit
dimensions of a melody written on a staff. The integrity of the melody is not respected because the
focus is restrained to one or two dimensions, depending on the case, such as: expression and note,
note and rhythm, or even only note. In Test 2, most of these students showed significant progress,
indicating the tacit understanding of melodic patterns in sight-singing. In the other two tests, there
was practically no evolution in the number of accurately sung melodies. These melodies (7 and 8)
are constructed in descending motion to the tonic triad. These students are still reading note-to-note
in spite of identifying the structure contained in the melodies. These results suggest that, for these
Santos and Del-Ben 37

Number of students
5

0
19 8
1 7
1 6
1 5 Te
1 4 st4
1 3
1 2
M 1 1 Te
el 1 0
1 9 st3
o
dy 8
nu 7 Te
m 6
5 st2
be 4
r 3
2 Te
1 st1

Figure 2. Total number of students who accurately sang a given number of melodies of
the solfège test, throughout the four trials

students, even though solfège drills are a tool for music reading, they have not been employed as a
routine practice to improve and develop sight-reading skills.
Students in Group II demonstrate that they tacitly understand melodic patterns. Nevertheless,
for some students, some basic rhythm patterns (dotted notes, for instance) are eventually problem-
atic. Considering that the number of correctly sung melodies remained roughly constant, the results
suggest that sight-singing seems to be an endurance-demanding activity, which can be developed
(or not) in the long term. Students in these tests have shown that, initially, it is relatively easy to
improve the number of accurately sung melodies, but in order to improve it is necessary to produce
a continuous and focused effort. In Test 4, most of the students have shown reflective practice by
filling spaces or skipping notes, without losing the melodic integrity. Such strategies were employed
during the solfège classes.
38 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

1 2
Students Students
20 A 20 G
Number of accurately sung melodies

Number of accurately sung melodies

B H
18 C 18 I
D J
16 E 16 K
14 F 14
12 12
10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
0 0
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Test number Test number

3
20
Number of accurately sung melodies

Students
18 L
M
16 N
O
14
P
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 2 3 4
Test number

Figure 3.  Students were organized into three groups according to the number of accurately sung melodies
throughout the four tests: 1. Group I: students who had shown an increase in the number of melodies
successfully sung from Test 1 to Test 2, but thereafter attained a plateau in the other tests; 2. Group II:
students who had shown an increase in the number of melodies sung from Test 1 to Test 2, which was
maintained or decreased in Test 3, but increased in Test 4; 3. Group III: students who had shown a continuous
increase in the number of melodies that were accurately sung. Students named by alphabetic letters

Finally, Group III continuously increased the number of correctly sung melodies, although indi-
vidual differences are clearly observed. For instance, in Test 1, there were students who sang two,
three, six or eight melodies; that is, there were some students who were still not acquainted with
sight recognition of a melody noted on a staff, and others who already had the tacit understanding
of the melody contour. In Test 4, after one academic year, the development of the group was still
small. Only one student showed significant progress.
The students who correctly sang a large number of melodies showed a reflexive practice dur-
ing the test and/or reported a regular, even intense, instrumental/compositional practice. For
example, student M (Group III), who successfully completed up to melody 17 in Test 4, was a
composition student who regularly and skillfully practiced improvisation on the piano and in the
solfège classes.
Santos and Del-Ben 39

All three groups showed a significant increase in the number of melodies successfully sung
from Test 1 to Test 2. These results suggest that, initially, the solfège practice seems to be well
received and assimilated by the students as a tool for the development of musical reading and
understanding. Nevertheless, in the third test (second academic semester), after continuous teaching,
the students were prone to stagnate (with some progress in some cases or even a slight decrease in
certain levels of performance). Most of the students claimed a lack of motivation to consistently
maintain this kind of practice, which they considered very demanding.
In the solfège classes, after the results observed in Test 3, an improvisation practice of the solfège
drills was introduced, and the results are reported elsewhere (Santos & Del Ben, 2004). The impro-
visation in the solfège class was shown to be an efficient tool for the development of endurance and
motivation within the solfège practice. The results were observed in the number of successfully sung
melodies attained in Test 4. An estimation of the mean progress for each group showed an increase
of roughly 100 percent of the total number of accurately sung melodies from Test 1 to Test 4.
Since the first application of these tests, we realized that the students showed different abilities
and needs that demanded frequent guidance and assessment. Therefore, it was necessary to provide
them with qualitative dimensions in order to emphasize the necessary aspect during the solfège
drills. The qualitative assessment criteria, based on Davidson et al. (1988) (as shown in Table 1),
were initially employed in our classes as indicators for diagnostic assessment during the solfège
drills. The students’ sight-singing performances were regularly recorded, and, in the following
class meeting, an assessment form was given to them, reporting their strengths and weaknesses.
From the analysis of our students’ recordings, we identified other aspects and relationships that
were not predicted by Davidson et al. (1988). For this reason, and because we hoped for a better
understanding of our students’ development, Davidson et al.’s (1988) qualitative assessment crite-
ria were expanded in scope (Table 2).
Table 2 shows that we adopted only three out of the four behaviors proposed by Davidson et al.
(1988) (see Table 1). Focus of attention (one of the original four behaviors) was an aspect observed
in the music reading procedure. Furthermore, it seemed to us that Davidson et al.’s (1988) ‘behav-
iors’ were better understood as ‘principles of development’ (column 1, Table 2), in the sense that
they represent skills and concepts (column 2, Table 2) that should be developed and mastered in
order to improve solfège performance. The development process for these skills and concepts is
described in a sequence of qualitatively different observed behaviors (column 3, Table 2).
Focus of attention is a component of the degrees of internalization level because, before focus-
ing on the reading process itself, our students were concerned with the tuning procedures.
Furthermore, beyond the notation level, only expressivity was retained from the criteria proposed
by Davidson et al. (1988). Despite the capacity of the student to visualize, understand and verbally
express his/her specific problems in sight-singing, we realized that this dimension could be devel-
oped with the collaboration of peer assessment during the class. Thus, we maintained self- and
peer-assessment as a kind of informal tool to provide a means of self-monitoring of the student’s
strengths and weaknesses, removing the units of analysis as a formal criterion.
During our solfège class, we noted that the dimension of rhythmic organization was taken into
account within degrees of internalization. Rhythmic organization problems were detected, which
demanded special care during qualitative assessment. Normally, when a beginner kept his/her
focus on the melodic contour, certain characteristics of the rhythmic dimension were lost, and vice
versa. Some advanced beginners, even those with a good sense of rhythmic patterns, have also
shown problems in producing accurate rhythmic expression. On the other hand, students who
attained a more holistic understanding of the piece performed rhythmic grouping more consis-
tently. Some students even considered hypermeasures, as in the case, for instance, of organizing
40 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

Table 2.  Qualitative assessment criteria of solfège drills based on qualitative assessment of sight-singing
presented by Davidson et al. (1988, pp. 61–67)*

Qualitative assessment of solfège drills

Principles of Skills and concepts Observed behaviors

development

Degrees of Warm-up procedures 1. In spite of listening to the tonality played at piano, no

internalization warm-up procedures are done.
2. Tuning procedures partially done.
3. Tuning procedures done (scales, tonic, subdominant and
dominant broken triads performed).
4. Creation of personal tuning procedures.
5. Silent preparation.
Focus of attention/ 1. Fragmented reading: note-to-note orientation.
reading procedures 2. Still visual orientation, but with notion of basic
elements grouping.
3. Balanced attention on aural and visual orientation of the
global line.
4. Performance based on internal representation of music.
Rhythmic organization 1. Personal rhythmic organization is still weak.
2. Starting notion of rhythmic organization: sense of regular
pulses and rhythmic groups.
3. Rhythmic structure mastered (clear sense of regular pulses,
groups and beats).
4. Rhythmic structure organized in large-level grouping.
Degrees of Scale reference 1. Personal organization of scale reference is still weak.
tonal stability Scale reference is frequently re-tuned and there is often
restarting from the beginning.
2. Starting notion of organization of scale reference.
Some difficulty in distinguishing aural function and
visual identity.
3. Coherence and mastering of tonal structure.
4. Fluent construction of highly chromatic melodic
contexts.
Intonation 1. Difficulty sustaining pitches and key. Melodic contour
is inconsistent.
2. Starting notion of melodic contour; capability of using
only the most salient notes as reference points
(tonic, dominant).
3. Coherence of contour, key, pitch expression and
intonation (eventually some problems with intonation
of specifics pitches).
4. Tuning strategies now adjusted to specific tonal
context.
Beyond Expressivity 1. Absent. Attention is limited to expressing notes and
the notation rhythms correctly.
2. Eventually a sense of the direction of contour is
present.
3. Global expressivity of the contour is easily understood
4. Deliberated expressivity.
5. Expressive performance becomes automatic.
* Observed behaviors in italic correspond to those introduced by the present paper
Santos and Del-Ben 41

each simple ternary measure as one beat. Body movements were also observed as a means to
emphasize the characteristics of the rhythmic start.
Finally, for each behavior presented in Table 2, different aspects were considered in order to
take into account different dimensions of the development of skills in the solfège practice. For
instance, regarding scale reference for level 1, the sense of tonality is non-existent. At the second
level, the vocal emission is fragile and demonstrates that the student has not yet learned to functionally
partition the musical space. At level 3, the student already possesses a scale reference, but he/she is still
unstable in mode change contexts. At level 4, the student has acquired tonal structure coherence and
total mastery in mode changes. In the criteria shown in Table 2, the specified levels in each aspect
allow a personal assessment, affording specific means to improve and develop one’s potential.
Considering the positive reception from the students, we employed the same criteria for the
assessment of the series of tests. After each test, the student received his/her summative assessment

Name: (of the student)

Number of melodies in the test: 19 Mean of the class: 5 melodies
Number of successfully sung melodies: 2
Duration of the test: 2:09

Degrees of internalization
a) Warm-up procedures: 2
b) Focus of attention (reading procedures): 1
c) Rhythmic organization: 1

Degrees of tonal stabilization

a) Scale reference: 1 (this has to be your main goal: to develop a more consistent vocal emission, try to
correlate the melodic contour with the specific tones).
b) Intonation: 1 (this will be improved as your scale reference becomes more internalized)

Beyond the notation

a) Expressivity: 2

Remarks: The warm-up procedures, based on scales and arpeggios of triads, have to be carried out
more carefully. Try to reproduce the scale that you just heard in order to be comfortable and aware of the
sounds present. You should not complete this step too soon because you still need to master the scale
sequence in the tonality with much more accuracy. For instance, you need to perform the reduced scalar
movement many times (fa-sol-la-sib-do in F, for example). You also need to improve the comprehension
of the integrated rhythms within the bar: first try to understand and feel the rhythm on the beat. Then, try
to integrate the rhythmic expression of each exercise on its own measure. You should practice solfège
daily and systematically, aiming to complete the warm-up procedures while paying attention to the scale
and to the tonic arpeggio tuning. After the first emission, play the melody on the instrument to check the
difficult parts. Try to consider the harmonic degrees that you inaccurately sang. Repeat the melodic line
with the correct intonation of the tones, looking for coherence in the global shape of the melodic contour.
Have a good practice!  

Figure 4.  Example of an individual assessment form received by a student after Test 1
42 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

form, containing the quantitative dimension in terms of accurately sung melodies, and a qualitative
diagnostic of his/her performance throughout the tests. Figure 4 presents an example of the assess-
ment form written after the performance of one of our students.
In each form (Figure 4), information is collated regarding the number of melodies successfully
sung, the class mean, the duration of the test and the grades obtained in terms of the three principles
of development: degrees of internalization, tonal stabilization and beyond the notation. The remarks
provided to the student draw attention to weaknesses or strengths demonstrated during the test. Data
from the forms, gathered over the four semesters, were systematically tabled for statistical treatment.
Table 3 shows the maximum grade attained for each criterion in Test 4. For the sake of clarity,
the total number of successfully sung melodies is also included. Correlation analysis was carried
out using significance p = 0.05.
Strong correlations (r = 0.61–0. 75) were found among the three categories: degrees of internal-
ization, tonal stability and beyond the notation, indicating the degree of coherence within the
criteria established by Davidson et al. (1988).
Full correlation (r = 1.00) was found between focus of attention and rhythmic organization. This
relationship points out one important feature already mentioned by Davidson et al. (1988): the
manipulation of only one dimension in the case of the beginner. The group of students whom we
assessed seemed to master better the scale reference than the rhythmic organization. Therefore, the
focus of attention in the moment of reading seems to be dependent on the personal abilities for
rhythmic organization, which in turn affects the intonation level. In other words, the rhythmic
expression still demands a lot of attention for this group of students and needs to be improved. This
result suggests that rhythmic organization, a criterion that we introduced, seems to be a relevant
aspect to be taken into account in solfège assessment.
Strong correlations (r = 0.66) were observed between warm-up procedures and scale reference.
The relationships between intonation and focus of attention, rhythmic organization and scale

Table 3. Maximum degree attained and number of successfully sung melodies in Test 4

Students Degrees of internalization Tonal stability Beyond the Total number

notation of melodies
Warm-up Focus of Rhythmic Scale Intonation
procedures attention organization reference Expressivity

A 3 2 2 3 2 4 10
B 2 2 2 3 2 2 10
C 3 2 2 3 2 2 11
D 3 2 2 3 2 3 10
E 2 2 2 2 2 2   6
F 2 2 2 1 1 2   5
G 3 3 3 3 3 4 19
H 3 2 2 3 2 3 17
I 3 2 2 3 2 4 16
J 3 3 3 4 3 4 17
K 3 2 2 3 2 3 16
L 3 2 2 3 2 2 10
M 3 2 2 3 2 2 17
N 3 2 2 2 2 2 10
O 3 2 2 3 3 3   8
P 2 2 2 2 2 2   8
Santos and Del-Ben 43

reference also exhibited strong correlations (r = 0.68). It is clear that warm-up procedures help to
hold the scale reference, particularly when the students in these initial development levels need this
kind of support to keep the tonal reference. A correlation between warm-up procedures and scale
reference is consistent, because the way that the beginner dealt with the warm-up procedures can
(or cannot) sustain the scale reference, in a developmental perspective of the tonal stability. In the
same way, intonation is related to the three aspects mentioned above, suggesting that these students
are still attached to the basic dimensions of decoding a score.
Expressivity showed moderate correlation (r = 0.43–0.57) with all the aspects indicating that the
basic dimensions are still so demanding for the students that expressivity cannot be displayed during
a stressful situation, such as the test. The attention demanded by the other aspects (rhythmic organiza-
tion and scale reference) makes it difficult to create the necessary environment to sustain scale refer-
ence that, in turn, might afford an expressive manipulation of the melodic contour. These results show
that the capacity of expressiveness of this particular class kept to the personal understanding of
melodic contour, because, in most of the students, the rhythmic expression still needed to be improved.
Considering the data shown in Table 3, a strong correlation was found between warm-up proce-
dures or scale reference and the total number of sung melodies. It seems that these two aspects,
intimately related to the internalization of tonal space, influence the assessment by the teacher.
Nevertheless, no significant statistical correlation between the total number of sung melodies and
the sum of the grades attained in the six criteria was found. Clearly, as a group, the students’
improvement was greater in terms of sight-singing than in music reading. However, one cannot
neglect that, taking into account only Group II (see Table 3), most of the students achieved progress
both in the total number of sung melodies (sight-singing) and in the grade attained in all the assess-
ment criteria. These results suggest that, for this group, music reading was improved.
The lack of a significant statistical correlation between the total number of sung melodies and the
sum of grades attained in the six criteria indicates that, regarding the assessment by the teacher, quali-
tative assessment seems to be more reliable because it can provide a holistic picture of the students’
development, as well as of the group, when these data are statistically analyzed. Qualitative assess-
ment, assisted by statistical analysis, affords a better understanding and control of the weaknesses and
strengths of each student and of the class. This was a much better method than computing a total num-
ber of successfully sung melodies. Nevertheless, we cannot neglect that the quantitative aspect of
assessment encouraged the students, because they had the goal of accurately singing 19 melodies.

Final remarks
The present study investigated the feasibility of the assessment criteria proposed by Davidson et al.
(1988) in a Brazilian context. The qualitative criteria provided guidelines that avoided evaluation
based on right–wrong criteria or on sensitive impression. Based on the specific difficulties of the
students whom we investigated, qualitative criteria devoted to rhythmic aspects should be included.
The introduction of an individual assessment form, evaluating the performance during the test,
provided specific guidance for each student to overcome his/her difficulties. This kind of tool
implies supplementary work for the teacher, but it allows him/her to more accurately map the
development of the class.
Although the practice of solfège drills could allow students to go beyond accuracy of pitch and
rhythm and into the domain of phrasing and noting the characteristics of the rhythmic structures,
implicit harmonic structures, dynamics and expressive character, the test situation did not allow these
aspects to emerge. The stress during the test situation may have influenced students’ performance. In
44 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

spite of the limitation of the quantitative assessment, one cannot neglect its positive role for most of
the students, who were spurred on by a specific goal regarding the number of melodies to be sung.
Solfège practice, in spite of its ability to function as a tool for musical understanding and develop-
ment of musical reading, is a very complex activity, requiring a high level of skill. It demands aware-
ness and reflective devotion to specific musical aspects (rhythmic, melodic and expressive ones),
which must be mastered, refined and deepened during one’s practice. As such, the qualitative solfège
assessment carried out during the classes allowed the scope of the practice’s aspects to be taken into
account and refined during the solfège practice. In daily practice, the qualitative criteria provided
guidelines so that students could improve and develop their approach to the music reading procedures.
These criteria also provided a consistent means of self-assessment of the student’s vocal performance.

Acknowledgement
Regina A.T. Dos Santos and L. Del-Ben respectively thank the National Council of Scientific Technological
Development (CNPq) - Brazil for the postdoctorate fellowship and research grants.

Notes
1. According Davidson et al. (1988), the indicators for rhythm (TMRD) consist of Tempo (T), Meter (M),
Rhythmic Pattern (R) and Duration (D). The indicators for tone accuracy are CKPI, standing for Contour
(C), Key (K), Pitch (P), and Intonation (I). These indicators are arranged in order as controlled behaviors.
For instance, ‘if the student’s performance shows problems maintaining the contour of a melody, it is likely
that key, correct notes, and intonation will be even less stable and reliable’ (Davidson et al., 1988, p. 57).
2. Fixed-do pedagogy is a system for representing pitch in which syllables are used to denote pitch names, and
they represent the same pitches regardless of the key. For instance, in the French system (which was used in
the present study), seven syllables (do–re–mi–fa–sol–la–si) are used for the seven notes of the diatonic system
(e.g., C major scale). All chromatic pitches are sung by their root syllable name, so the sequence g–g–g–g
would be sung ‘(sol–sol–sol–sol)’ with the student altering the pitch accordingly” (Demorest, 1998).

References
Davidson, L., & Scripp, L. (1988a). A developmental view of sightsinging. Journal of Music Theory
Pedagogy, 2(1), 10–23.
Davidson, L. & Scripp, L. (1988b). Framing the dimensions of sightsinging: Teaching toward musical devel-
opment. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, 2(1), 24–50.
Davidson, L., Scripp, L., & Meyaard, J. (1988). Sightsinging ability: A quantitative and qualitative point of
view. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, 2(1), 51–68.
Davidson, L., Scripp, L., & Flechter, A. (1995). Enhancing sight-singing skills through reflective writing: A
new approach to the undergraduate theory curriculum. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, 9(1), 1–28.
Demorest, S. M. (1998). Improving sight-singing performance in the choral ensemble: The effect of indi-
vidual testing. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46(2), 182–192.
Demorest, S. M. (2001). Building choral excellence – teaching sight-singing in the choral rehearsal. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Gerling, C. C. (1995). Projeto de um programa de leitura musical em alunos de graduação em música [Project
for music reading program for music undergraduate students]. Boletim do NEA, 3(1), 50–57.
Karpinski, G. S. (2000). Aural skills acquisition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Santos, R. A. T. (2003). Proposta de desenvolvimento de leitura musical de Davidson & Scripp: uma análise
teórico-interpretativa [Program for developing music reading by Davidson & Scripp: A theoretical-inter-
pretive analysis]. Unpublished MA Dissertation, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Santos and Del-Ben 45

Santos, R. A. T., & Del Ben, L. (2004). Contextualized improvisation in solfège class. International Journal
of Music Education, 22, 271–282.
Welch, G. F., & Sundberg, J. (2002). Solo voice. In R. Parncutt & G. E. McPherson (Eds), The science and
psychology of music performance (pp. 253–268). New York: Oxford University Press.
White, J. D. (2002). Guidelines for college teaching of music theory (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Regina Antunes Teixeira dos Santos completed her PhD in Music Education at the Federal University of Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil. She is currently continuing her research into piano practice and performance. She is a
Postdoctoral fellow at the same university.
Address: Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Annes Dias, 112–15 Andar Centro, CEP 90020-090, Porto
Alegre, Brazil. [email: jhsreg@adufrgs.ufrgs.br]

Luciana Del-Ben is a Lecturer in Music Education at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She
teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on research methodologies and students-teacher training. Her
publications are in the fields of audience listening, assessment, music teachers’ education, and music teachers’
conceptions and practices.
Address: Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Annes Dias, 112–15 Andar Centro, CEP 90020-090, Porto
Alegre, Brazil. [email: lucianadelben@uol.com.br]

Abstracts
L’évaluation qualitative et qualitative du solfège dans un contexte d’étude
de premier cycle brésilien

Cet article vise à examiner la possibilité d’utiliser les critères d’évaluations du solfège proposé par
Davidson, Scripp et Meyaard afin d’évaluer un groupe d’étudiants brésiliens de premier cycle.
Cette expérimentation a eu lieu en 2003 et impliquait 16 étudiants de première année issus d’une
variété de domaines possédant chacun un niveau différent d’expérience musicale. La moyenne
d’âge des étudiants était de 20 ans. La performance en solfège des étudiants a été analysée quanti-
tativement et qualitativement, conformément aux critères proposés par Davidson et coll. À la
lumière des analyses, des aspects qui n’avaient pas été prédits ont été révélés par les auteurs. Les
critères de Davidson et coll. pour la validité des données quantitatives et qualitatives ont été adap-
tées et élargies à notre contexte. Le résultat des analyses suggère que les critères qualitatifs four-
nissent une ligne directrice aux étudiants servant à améliorer et à adopter une approche personnelle
de leur processus en lecture musicale. Des critères qualitatifs ont également fourni un moyen
approprié pour autoévaluer la performance vocale des étudiants.

Quantitative und qualitative Leistungsmessung von Solfège im höheren

Bildungswesen Brasiliens
Dieser Artikel berichtet über die Brauchbarkeit der Bewertungskriterien von Davidson, Scripp und
Meyaard im Solfège-Unterricht bei der Bewertung von brasilianischen Studierenden. Die
Untersuchung wurde 2003 mit 16 Studienanfängern verschiedener Hauptinstrumente und mit
unterschiedlichen Vorerfahrungen durchgeführt. Das Durchschnittsalter betrug 20 Jahre. Die
Leistung im Fach Solfège wurde nach den obigen Kriterien quantitativ und qualitativ analysiert.
Dabei zeigten sich Aspekte, die nicht vorausgesehen waren. Daraufhin wurden die Kriterien
erweitert und dem brasilianischen System angepasst. Dazu wurde ebenfalls ein individueller
46 International Journal of Music Education 28(1)

Bewertungszeitpunkt eingesetzt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die qualitativen Kriterien den
Studierenden Richtlinien zur eigenen Verbesserung und Förderung ihrer Lesefähigkeit boten.
Darüber hinaus boten die qualitativen Kriterien auch ein zuverlässiges Mittel zur Selbsteinschätzung
ihrer vokalen Darstellungsfähigkeit.

Evaluación Cuantitativa y Cualitativa del Solfeo en un Contexto de

Enseñanzas Universitarias
El presente artículo trata sobre la facilidad o no de usar los criterios de evaluación propuestos por
Davidson, Scripp y Meyaard (1988) para la enseñanza del solfeo como modo de calificar a un
grupo de estudiantes brasileños de diplomatura universitaria. El experimento se llevó a cabo en el
2003 con 16 estudiantes de primer curso provenientes de diferentes carreras, cada uno de ellos con
diferentes niveles musicales previos. La edad media de los alumnos era de 20. Sus ejercicios
solfísticos fueron analizados cuantitativa y cualitativamente de acuerdo a los criterios propuestos
por Davidson y otros. Encontramos a través de este análisis algunos aspectos que no predijeron
estos autores, de modo que adaptamos y ampliamos los criterios de Davidson y otros para la eva-
luación cuantitativa y cualitativa a nuestro contexto. Se introdujo igualmente un curso sobre eva-
luación individual. Los resultados sugieren que los criterios cualitativos proporcionaron directrices
al alumnado para mejorar sus procesos de lectura musical, los cuales ofrecían además un método
coherente de autoevaluación para la práctica vocal del alumnado.