In February/March 2021 I took an online course on Solmization, modes and psalmody, led by Isaac Alonso de Molina and organized by Escuela de Polifonía Opera Omnia. It was great! I participated because I had learned before what solmization is but not to actually do it. Studying at the conservatory I was really busy playing my flute many hours of the day, but of course I didn’t practice with the background of those Renaissance musicians. I want to be able to hear and play early music a bit more with their ears and thus, in the end, to be more creative and confident on ornamenting and improvising and to make this music more my own.

The last months I felt a bit lost about how to approach my music practice, apart from playing scales, pieces and diminutions of intervals from treatises. I found the solution thanks to the course. I’m going to take all the steps that a Renaissance musician probably would have taken in his musical training, starting from the very beginning. Since Silvestro Ganassi (1492-1565) is dead, I will be my own maestra for now, following the steps pointed out in the online course.

First step: The Guidonian Hand

I’ll let you know on the blog how my singing-while-pointing-to-my-hand is going 🙂