using your hands to hear chords and cadences

by Stanley Jerome Childers, Jr.
(Akron, Ohio)

your system for sight singing seems to make sense by adding tactile sensations to notes. it seems like you could expand that system to chords with visual aids. On the visual aid you should show a hand with a dot representing each chord note such as do mi so for a major chord. Have the student touch their finger for do mi and so, and then show and play do, mi, so together for the whole major chord. This will progressively get the student to add tactile sensations to chord types also. This could then be used for cadences. you could show the dots for do, fa, and la as you play chords i, iv, and vi respectively. Then have the student touch their hands for do, fa, la so they can have the tactile sensations for cadences too. I would like to hear what you think about this idea and whether it's possible or not. my e-mail is jeromechilders@yahoo.com

Dainis NOTE: YES, that does sound possible -- it's the difference between scale degrees and the notes themselves. I LOVE the suggestion. thank you! :-)