Introduce I–V of the major scale. With students, sing up and down the major scale, using notes 1–5 (e.g. 121, 12321, 1234321, 123454321) and pointing at your fingers as you sing. Once this is secure, miss out pitches/numbers (e.g. no. 4) to establish that students are confident what each pitch sounds like, and can move between them. With each new lesson, omit a different number. This exercise can be incorporated effectively into vocal warm-ups ahead of singing.
Play games. ‘Simon Says’ is great for reinforcing a sense of pitch using the numbers. With ‘Simon says 3, 2, 1’, for example, singing the numbers and pointing to the fingers means students have to do both in their response. Making this a game means they stop worrying about the names of notes and just have fun, practising the skill without pressure.
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