Training Overview


National School of Music instruction is designed to teach the rudiments of music as they relate to gospel singing in the four parts of harmony; Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. The fundamental goals are to recognize the notes of the scale, to train the ear and the mind to know the pitches of the notes and sing them correctly on sight.

Instruction starts with the basics of the Diatonic Major Scale, the seven notes of the scale along with their absolute, numerical, harmonic and syllable names with their unique shapes. This style of sight reading using shaped notes is particularly helpful when singing without musical instruments, as the New Testament Christians did.

The shaped note or "moveable Do" system was developed to teach how the tones of the scale relate to one another. Singing the scale repeatedly, jumping from one part of the scale to another interval of the scale is stressed as a primary tool for training the ear. Advanced classes address harmony, degree modifiers and rules for composing four part vocal harmony using the shaped note system.

As you can see I have hopefully developed a system of study to where as students move through the school, they will continue to add to their knowledge and capabilities.