I’ve got a Child’s Xilophone with notes from Middel C to High C. I play many little baby songs on it and sing with it, like Twinkle little star becomes “Do Do So So La La So, Fa Fa Me Me Re Re Do” etc.
I don’t have any other music teaching tools/books or anything, I’m waiting for LMs to come out, (does any body know when that is?)
I got this do re me singing idea from posts here on Brill Kids, but is it a good idea? I know my xilophone is on key, but I’m not too sure I am. :mellow:
I’d love to hear from you guys, especially the ones who are using Soft Mozart and other programs and techniques designed for young kids.
Yes I think it’s a marvelous idea. I think it would be important to sing it using the words at times too…it would be terrible if they never learnt the words! We use soft Mozart in this home, singing the solfege definitely helps remember the pitch. I don’t think it matters all that much if you are a bit off key…unless you are terribly off lol I am often off key when we play along with the piano :yes: it doesn’t seam to effect our learning, just my throat! 
The xylophone if it’s in tune is also a great idea. It will add depth to the learning and add the possibility of perfect pitch. Have your child sing the solfege too if they are old enough, singing is a fast path way to perfect pitch.
I am curious how do you figure out the solfege for all the nursery rhymes? Do you have some music training?
No musical training, but I can figure out songs on the xylophone by ear, then the xylophone is marked C D E F G A B C, I memorised C = DO (you can make an O with the C) D = RE (you can make an R with the D) E is for ME, F is for Fa, G is for SO (again you can make an O with the G) A for LA, B for Ti (can you see the small letter t in the B) silly way for me to remember it, but that’s how I do it, once I can play a little song, the I just sing Do Re Me along
You can use a label maker to put solfege name stickers on the keys, too!
I was afraid that putting stickers on the xylophone might change the pich or sound quality, but yes indeed, marking the notes Do Re Me is a good solution
Classic! I love your thinking, I realized a few of them rhymed but am deliberately NOT learning them in relation to each other at the moment because I am learning piano through soft Mozart and I was thinking since I already know the ABC music on a staff if I learn do re me is c d e then it will slow me down while I think now do is c so press c…does that make sence? But catch 22 if I don’t convert them I can’t teach my kids to sing a few songs in do re me format :nowink: I figured in about a month theynwill be able to figure it out themselves anyway. This morning my son was playing a horn on my iPhone and my daughter pipes up " hey mummy that horn sounds like do, and that one is re!" I was thinking the same thing so maybe we are both getting it!
That’s great news Mandabplus3, so did you guys learn mainly by singing Solfage, or was there other techniques involved.
Those “ways to rember” the link between A B C and La Ti Do was just a quick memory aid, I had them commited to memory within about 30 minites of playing around, but I can not recognize a note by listening only, I have to look at what I’m playing, and can’t sing solfage without looking at my xylophone lol
Great idea. In Russia they use this method a lot and it is quite effective. We have a few tapes of children’s songs where they are first played with words, then they are sang using solfegio, and then it is just “-1” or melody, and child is encouraged to either use percussion instrument along, or clap or sing along. My children love that, and I think what you are doing is great!
We have been using soft Mozart to learn to play piano for about 5/6 weeks almost daily for about 10 mins each person or less…( truthfully…I am pretty slack 
) The program encourages you to sing solfege as you play the songs on the piano and has pictures to make that easy for us to do! It also contains a few games to play that encourage ear development. I have played the games every three days for 3,5 or 10 mins. In truth the results are incredible considering the total time spent has been so minimal. It is clear to me that myself and my kids will develop perfect pitch using soft Mozart. This morning with the horns was the first time the kids have taken the pitch knowledge to another instrument. Pretty cool!
If you can’t sing solfege without the xylophone I would suggest listening to that sound of music song about ten times, that should help sort out your singing pitch. I was struggling to sing a few of them to begin with but practice really does make perfect in this case.
I’ve read about Soft Mozart and it does sound great, but my little on isn’t interested in the piano and loves his 1/4 guitar to bits, so I figured, I’ll help him learn to read music as best I can while his brain is still super powered and then send him for proper guitar lessons once he’s old enough.
Thank you so much for all your support and tips, things I read here on BK posts stick somewhere in my brain and then come out when I’m interacting with my little boy. :yes: