The hand signs
Reference — optional. A kinaesthetic aid for the scale degrees. Use it if it helps the sound stick; skip it if it doesn't.
What they are
The Curwen hand signs (adopted by Kodály) give each scale degree a shape your hand makes in the air, at a height that rises with the pitch. Singing a degree and making its sign adds a physical memory to the aural one — useful for some people, redundant for others.
The signs
| Degree | Sign |
|---|---|
| do (^1) | a closed fist, held at about waist height — solid, grounded |
| re (^2) | flat hand angled up from the wrist, like pointing up a ramp — it's rising |
| mi (^3) | flat hand, level, palm down — calm, settled |
| fa (^4) | thumb points down; the hand droops — it wants to fall (to mi) |
| sol (^5) | flat hand vertical, palm forward — open, strong, "the herald" |
| la (^6) | hand hangs limp from the wrist — soft, a little sad |
| ti (^7) | index finger points up and forward — straining toward do |
| do (^8) | fist again, up at eye level — home, an octave higher |
The two that carry the most is the pair with the strongest pulls: fa droops toward mi, and ti reaches up to do. If you only use two signs, use those.
Try it
Try
Over a C drone, sing the scale up and down on solfège while making the signs. Then close your eyes, have someone play (or play yourself) a single degree, and make its sign before you name it. If the shape comes to your hand faster than the number comes to your mouth, the signs are working for you.
The usual mistake
Treating the signs as the point. They're a scaffold for the sound — if you're concentrating on getting the hand shape right instead of hearing the degree, drop them. They've helped generations of Kodály-trained children; they are not compulsory for an adult who already hears the degrees against a drone.