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Solfege Meaning in Music, What It Is Used For and Who Invented It

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Ever wondered how musicians can sing or play a melody right from the sheet music without missing a note?

Dive into the world of solfège, a time-tested musical system that uses seven simple syllables—do, re, mi, fa, so(l), la, and ti(si)—to help musicians of all levels master pitches and intervals with ease.

Solfege Meaning
IN THIS POST
  1. What Does Solfege Mean?
  2. Who Invented Solfège?
  3. What Are Solfege Hand Signs?
  4. What Is Chromatic Solfege?
  5. Solfège Exercise: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
  6. FAQs

What Does Solfège Mean?

Solfège /soʊlˈfedʒ.i.oʊ/, also known as solfeggio, solfeo, solmization or sol-fa, is a musical system that assigns 7 (seven) specific syllables—doremifaso(l)la, and ti(si)— to the notes of the scale rather than the names of the notes such as C, D, EF, and to simplify the process of hearing, learning and singing pitches and intervals accurately.  

HEARING IMPAIRED TIP American Sign Language 👌 How to spell Solfège in American Sign Language (ASL):

Solfege in Sign Language (ASL) How to say Solfège (Music) in American Sign Language (ASL): (1) 🖐 (2) (✋⬅️➡️ ✋) 🖐 

It is a learner-friendly method in music used to recognize and differentiate which musical notes have a high or low quality (pitch), read and perform music directly from notation at first sight (sight-reading), and improve the ability to hear and identify various sounds (aural skills).

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Solfège is generally practiced using either 'fixed do' or 'movable do' method.

On the one hand, the 'fixed do' method means that each syllable in solfège is tied to a specific note; that is to say, 'do' always represents the note 'C', regardless of whether the key is C major, G major, or any other key.

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SOLFÈGE - the teaching of music essentials, including tonality, tempo, rhythm. (From Italian solfeggiare to use the syllables sol-fa).

@dontattempt

On the other hand, the 'movable do' method means that 'do' is always the first note (or tonic) of any major scale, so in the key of C major, 'do' would be C, and in the key of G major, 'do' would be G.

Thus, 'do' moves depending on the key of the music, and the rest of the syllables (re, mi, fa, so(l), la, and ti(si)) follow in order relative to the position of 'do'; for example, in G major, 'do' would be G, 're' would be A, 'mi' would be B, and so on.

Solfege Guessing Game

Guess the solfege notes in fixed-do method

Note Image

Who Invented Solfège?

Origin of solfège, as a musical system widely recognized in the present days, dates back to the innovative work of Gudio de Arezzo, an 11th-century Benedictine monk.

Guido, who was educated at the Abbey of Pomposa, faced the challenge of teaching church chants to his choir, a task made difficulty by the lack of precise musical notation at that time.

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a chant from guido d'arezzo! (he's known for having made the CDEFGABC system thing).

im not religious but somehow i find these pieces that are eerie(/pos) feeling very fascinating.

@jj_tsv

Music was primarily passed down orally, and the existing notations were rudimentary, consisting of small marks called 'neumes' that offered only a vague guide to the melody.

To solve that, Guido devised a more accurate system of notation, which involved assigning specific names to each noteA, B, C, D, E, F, and G—based on what he called the 'natural minor scale' or 'mode'.

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His most significant contribution, however, was the creation of a pedagogical tool to teach singers to recognize and remember these notes.

He composed the hymn 'Ut queant laxis', in which each line began on a progressively higher note, using the syllablesut, re, mi, fa, sol, and la—to name these pitches.

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Arezzo, Italy. Here Guido d’Arezzo developed and taught a novel system of music based on lines with dots as we use it today, together with the names of the notes ut-re-mi-fa-sol-la, replacing the neumatic system. (1/3)

@toorandom

This system evolved over time, with 'ut' eventually being replaced by 'do' for ease of pronunciation and the addition of 'ti' (or 'si' in some languages) as the seventh note, forming the familiar major scale used today.

Guido d'Arezzo

Guido d'Arezzo

What Are Solfège Hand Signs?

Solfège hand signs, developed by Reverend John Curwen in the 1800s, are the visual version of solfège syllables which provide a visual aid during singing exercises and are an effective method for demonstrating the pitch and the size of intervals thanks to the distance between the hand signs.

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This week, I learned that solfege hand signs are a thing and I have some catch-up to do if I'm going to pass this class.

@PLUMPKIN

That is to say, the hand sign for 'do', a closed fist, represents the foundational note of the scale, while 're', with fingers pointing upwards, indicates a rise in pitch.

Specifically, 'do' is represented by a closed fist with the palm facing down, 're' is indicated by a hand with straightened fingers angled upward at about 45 degrees, 'mi' is shown as a flat hand with the palm facing the ground, 'fa' is a thumbs-down gesture with the thumb pointing downward, 'so(l)' is a flattened hand with the palm facing towards you, 'la' is a gently curved hand with the fingertips pointing down, and 'ti(si)' is an index finger pointed upward at a diagonal angle.

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Plus, solfège hand signs gained widespread acceptance with the Kodály method, a music education technique that incorporates these signs to enhance learning through physical movement and vocal practice.

Solfege Hand Sign Guessing Game

Guess the solfege hand signs

What Is Chromatic Solfège?

Chromatic solfege is an advanced version of standard solfege that includes musical notes not part of the regular do-re-mi scale.

Normally, solfege consists of seven main notes: do, re, mi, fa, so(l), la, and ti(si), which are part of the 'diatonic scale' (a major or minor musical scale consisting of five full tones and two semitones).

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Nonetheless, there are also 'in-between' notes that fill the spaces between these main notes, similar to the white keys for the main notes and the black keys for the notes in between on a piano.

Chromatic scale includes all these possible in-between notes, resulting in 12 pitches instead of just 7, which are variations or slightly altered versions of the regular solfege syllables.

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Bradshaw's crappiest lesson all year. Melodic Minor Solfege (la,ti,do,re,me,FI, SI,la) FISI!! Bradshaw died!!

@tubafan86

To sing or play a sharp (note, which is slightly higher than the regular note, an 'i' sound (pronounced 'ee') is added to the end of the syllable, turning 'do' into 'di', 're' into 'ri' and so forth.

When it comes to flat () notes, which are slightly lower, an 'e' (pronounced 'ay') or 'a' is added to the end, turning 're' into 'ra', 'mi' into 'me' and so on. 

Chromatic Solfege Guessing Game

Guess the chromatic and regular solfege notes

Note Image

Solfège Exercise: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Solfege Exercise

Practice your solfege skills with the basic level 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

FAQs

Both are used, but 'so' is a more casual alternative to 'sol'.

It is a music education method that teaches rhythm and pitch through spoken syllables before reading music, just like a child learning a language.

Most common used solfege emoji is that 🎼.

'Solfege' is more commonly known and used in English-speaking countries; however, both terms refers to the same concept, with 'Solfege' being French and 'Solfeggio' being Italian.