The principle
Modern ear training (as in Berklee courses) doesn't start from isolated intervals but from function: each note is heard in relation to the tonic. It uses movable-do solfège: in C major C = do, D = re, E = mi, F = fa, G = sol, A = la, B = ti; in A minor you use either la = tonic or do = tonic with the alterations (it depends on the school: pick one and stick with it).
Scale-degree tendencies
- ti (B) rises to do: leading tone.
- fa (F) falls to mi: tends toward the third.
- re (D) goes to do or to mi: unstable but soft.
- la (A) falls to sol.
- do, mi, sol are stable.
Recognizing the tendency is faster than counting semitones.
Training for producers
- Sing the tonic over a loop, then sing the bass note of each chord: you have the degrees (C G A F = I V vi IV).
- Recognize the quality: major (bright), minor (dark), dominant (tension), maj7 (suspended), m7 (soft).
- Dictation of common progressions: ii–V–I, I–vi–IV–V, i–VI–III–VII.
- Repeat in different keys: the function stays, the pitch changes.
Practical example in C
Melody E–D–C over G7 → C: mi–re–do, a descent toward the closing tonic. Melody B–C over G → C: ti–do, the leading tone resolving. If a topline ends on re over C, the ear perceives an open question.
Real example
“Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music (Rodgers & Hammerstein, 1959) is literally a lesson in functional solfège: each phrase associates a syllable with a scale degree and its tendency.