Solfège

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In music, solfège (US /sɒlˈfɛʒ/, UK /ˈsɒlfɛʒ/,[1] French: [sɔl.fɛʒ]) or solfeggio (/sɒlˈfɛɪ/, Italian: [solˈfeddʒo]), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, solfejo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach pitch and sight singing. Solfège is taught at every level of music education in some countries, from primary through graduate level university study.

Many music education methods use solfège to teach pitch and sight-reading, most notably the Kodály Method.

The study of solfège enables the musician to audiate, or mentally hear, the pitches of a piece of music which he or she is seeing for the first time and then to sing them aloud. Solfège study also improves recognition of musical intervals (perfect fifths, minor sixths, etc.), and strengthens the understanding of music theory. Solfège is a form of solmization, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

The technique of solfège involves assigning the notes of a scale a particular syllable, and then practicing by singing different note sequences using these syllables. The sequences gradually get more difficult in terms of intervals and rhythms used.

The seven syllables commonly used for this practice in English-speaking countries are: do (or doh in tonic sol-fa),[2] re, mi, fa, sol (or so in tonic sol-fa), la, and ti. In other languages, si is used (see below) for the seventh scale tone.

There are two ways of applying solfège: 1) fixed do, where the syllables are always tied to specific pitches (e.g. "do" is always the pitch "C") and 2) movable do, where the syllables are assigned to different pitches based on musical context.

Etymology

Italian "solfeggio" and French "solfège" ultimately derive from the names of two of the syllables used: sol and fa.[3][4] The English equivalent of this expression, "sol-fa", is sometimes used, especially as a verb (to "sol-fa" a passage is to sing it in solfège).[5]

The word "solmization" derives from the Medieval Latin "solmisatio", ultimately from the names of the syllables sol and mi. "Solmization" is often used synonymously with "solfège", but is technically a more generic term,[6] taking in alternative series of syllables used in other cultures such as India and Japan.

Origin

The use of a seven-note diatonic musical scale is ancient, though originally it was played in descending order.

In the eleventh century, the music theorist Guido of Arezzo developed a six-note ascending scale that went as follows: ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and named the Aretinian syllables after him. A seventh note, "si" was added shortly after.[7] The names were taken from the first verse of the Latin hymn Ut queant laxis, where the syllables fall on their corresponding scale degree.

Sheet Music for Ut Queant Laxis

Ut queant laxīs    resonāre fībrīs
ra gestõrum    famulī tuõrum,
Solve pollūtī    labiī reātum,
Sancte Iõhannēs.

The words of the hymn (The Hymn of St. John) were written by Paulus Diaconus in the 8th century. It translates[8] as:

So that these your servants can, with all their voice, sing your wonderful feats, clean the blemish of our spotted lips, O Saint John!

"Ut" was changed in the 1600s in Italy to the open syllable Do,[9] at the suggestion of the musicologue Giovanni Battista Doni, and Si (from the initials for "Sancte Iohannes") was added to complete the diatonic scale. In Anglophone countries, "si" was changed to "ti" by Sarah Glover in the nineteenth century so that every syllable might begin with a different letter.[10] "Ti" is used in tonic sol-fa and in the song "Do-Re-Mi".

In England during the Elizabethan era a simplified version of this system (using only the syllables "fa", "sol", "la" and "mi") was used (see below Solmization in Elizabethan England).

Alternative theories

An alternative theory on the origins of solfège proposes that it may have also had Arabic musical origins. It has been argued that the solfège syllables (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti) may have been derived from the syllables of the Arabic solmization system درر مفصّلات Durar Mufaṣṣalāt ("Separated Pearls") (dāl, rā', mīm, fā', ṣād, lām, tā') during the Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe. This origin theory was first proposed by Francisci a Mesgnien Meninski in 1680, and then by Jean-Benjamin de La Borde in 1780.[11][12][13][14] Guillaume Villoteau (Description historique, technique et litteraire des instruments de musique des orientaux in the Description de l'Égypte,[15] Paris 1809) appears to endorse this view.[citation needed] However, there is no documentary evidence for this theory.[16]

In all of Hindustani music and Carnatic music (two major branches of Indian classical music), a form of solfège called swara or sargam is the first lesson. In Indian classical music the corresponding sounds of solfège are sa, re (ri), ga, ma, pa, dha, ni and back to sa. The Sanhita portion of the Samaveda (Hindu holy verses), that date back to 1300-1000 BC were later set to music using this technique. This is the earliest known origin of the solfège.[citation needed]

In Elizabethan England

In the Elizabethan era, England and its related territories used only four of the syllables: mi, fa, sol, and la. "Mi" stood for modern si, "fa" for modern do or ut, "sol" for modern re, and "la" for modern mi. Then, fa, sol and la would be repeated to also stand for their modern counterparts, resulting in the scale being "fa, sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi, fa". The use of "fa", "sol" and "la" for two positions in the scale is a leftover from the Guidonian system of so-called "mutations" (i.e. changes of hexachord on a note, see Guidonian hand). This system was eventually eliminated by the 19th century, but it was (and usually still is) used in the shape note system, which gives each of the four syllables "fa", "sol", "la", and "mi" a different shape.

An example of the use of this type of solmization occurs in Shakespeare's, "King Lear", I, 2 (see below Literature).

Modern use

There are two main types of solfège Movable do and Fixed Do.

Movable do solfège

In Movable do, or tonic sol-fa, each syllable corresponds to a scale degree. This is analogous to the Guidonian practice of giving each degree of the hexachord a solfège name, and is mostly used in Germanic countries, Commonwealth Countries, and the United States.

One particularly important variant of movable do, but differing in some respects from the system described below, was invented in the nineteenth century by Sarah Ann Glover, and is known as tonic sol-fa.

In Italy, in 1972, Roberto Goitre wrote the famous method "Cantar leggendo", which has come to be used for choruses and for music for young children.

The pedagogical advantage of the movable-Do system is its ability to assist in the theoretical understanding of music; because a tonic is established and then sung in comparison to, the student infers melodic and chordal implications through his or her singing. Thus, while fixed-do is more applicable to instrumentalists, movable-do is more applicable to theorists and, arguably, composers.

Major

Movable do is frequently employed in Australia, China, Japan (with 7th being si), Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong, and English-speaking Canada. The movable do system is a fundamental element of the Kodaly method used primarily in Hungary, but with a dedicated following worldwide. In the movable do system, each solfège syllable corresponds not to a pitch, but to a scale degree: The first degree of a major scale is always sung as "do", the second as "re", etc. (For minor keys, see below.) In movable do, a given tune is therefore always sol-faed on the same syllables, no matter what key it is in.

The solfège syllables used for movable do differ slightly from those used for fixed do, because the English variant of the basic syllables ("ti" instead of "si") is usually used, and chromatically altered syllables are usually included as well.

Major scale degree Mova. do solfège syllable # of half steps from Do Trad. Pron.
1 Do 0 /doʊ/
Raised 1 Di 1 /diː/
Lowered 2 Ra 1 /ɹɑː/
2 Re 2 /ɹeɪ/
Raised 2 Ri 3 /ɹiː/
Lowered 3 Me (or Ma) 3 /meɪ/ (/mɑː/)
3 Mi 4 /miː/
4 Fa 5 /fɑː/
Raised 4 Fi 6 /fiː/
Lowered 5 Se 6 /seɪ/
5 Sol 7 /soʊ/
Raised 5 Si 8 /siː/
Lowered 6 Le (or Lo) 8 /leɪ/ (/loʊ/)
6 La 9 /lɑː/
Raised 6 Li 10 /liː/
Lowered 7 Te (or Ta) 10 /teɪ/ (/tɑː/)
7 Ti 11 /tiː/

If, at a certain point, the key of a piece modulates, then it is necessary to change the solfège syllables at that point. For example, if a piece begins in C major, then C is initially sung on "do", D on "re", etc. If, however, the piece then modulates to G major, then G is sung on "do", A on "re", etc., and C is then sung on "fa".

Minor

Passages in a minor key may be sol-faed in one of two ways in movable do: either starting on do (using "me", "le", and "te" for the lowered third, sixth, and seventh degrees, and "la" and "ti" for the raised sixth and seventh degrees), which is referred to as "do-based minor", or starting on la (using "fi" and "si" for the raised sixth and seventh degrees). The latter (referred to as "la-based minor") is sometimes preferred in choral singing, especially with children.

The choice of which system is used for minor makes a difference as to how you handle modulations: in the first case ("do-based minor") when you move for example from C major to C minor the syllable do keeps pointing to the same note namely C (in other words you go from do = C to do = C; there's no "mutation"), but when you move from C major to A minor (or A major) then you go from do = C to do = A; in the second case ("la-based minor") when you move from C major to A minor the syllable do keeps point to the same note, again C, but when you move from C major to C minor you go from do = C to do = E-flat (and when you move from C major to A major you go from do = C to do = A, etc.).

Natural minor scale degree Movable do solfège syllable (La-based minor) Movable do solfège syllable (Do-based minor)
Lowered 1 Le (or Lo) Ti
1 La Do
Raised 1 Li Di
Lowered 2 Te (or Ta) Ra
2 Ti Re
3 Do Me (or Ma)
Raised 3 Di Mi
Lowered 4 Ra Mi
4 Re Fa
Raised 4 Ri Fi
Lowered 5 Me (or Ma) Se
5 Mi Sol
6 Fa Le (or Lo)
Raised 6 Fi La
Lowered 7 Se Ba
7 Sol Te (or Ta)
Raised 7 Si Ti

Fixed do solfège

The names of the notes in Romance languages.

In Fixed do, each syllable corresponds to the name of a note. This is analogous to the Romance system naming pitches after the solfège syllables, and is used in Romance and Slavic countries, among others, including Spanish speaking countries.

In the major Romance and Slavic languages, the syllables Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si are used to name notes the same way that the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, and B are used to name notes in English. For native speakers of these languages, solfège is simply singing the names of the notes, omitting any modifiers such as "sharp" or "flat" in order to preserve the rhythm. This system is called fixed do and is used in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Belgium, Romania, Latin American countries and in French-speaking Canada as well as countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel where non-Romance languages are spoken.

Traditional fixed do[17]
Note name Syllable Pronunciation Pitch class
English Romance Italian Anglicized
C Do do /dɔ/ /doʊ/ 11
C Do 0
C Do 1
D Re re /rɛ/ /ɹeɪ/ 1
D Re 2
D Re 3
E Mi mi /mi/ /miː/ 3
E Mi 4
E Mi 5
F Fa fa /fa/ /fɑː/ 4
F Fa 5
F Fa 6
G Sol sol /sɔl/ /soʊl/ 6
G Sol 7
G Sol 8
A La la /la/ /lɑː/ 8
A La 9
A La 10
B Si si /si/ /siː/ 10
B Si 11
B Si 0

In the fixed do system, shown above, accidentals do not affect the syllables used. For example, C, C, and C (as well as Cdouble sharp and Cdouble flat, not shown above) are all sung with the syllable "do".

Chromatic variants

Several chromatic fixed-do Systems that have also been devised to account for chromatic notes (and even for double-sharp and double-flat variants) are as follows:

Chromatic variants of fixed do
Note name Syllable Pitch class
English Romance Traditional
[17]
5 sharps / 5 flats
[17][18][19]
Hullah
[20]
Shearer
[21]
Siler
[22]
Sotorrio
[23]
Cdouble flat Dodouble flat do duf daw du (Pe) 10
C Do du de do (Tsi) 11
C Do do do do da Do 0
C Do di da di de Ga 1
Cdouble sharp Dodouble sharp das dai di (Ray) 2
Ddouble flat Redouble flat re raf raw ru (Do) 0
D Re ra ra ra ro Ga 1
D Re re re re ra Ray 2
D Re ri ri ri re Nu 3
Ddouble sharp Redouble sharp ris rai ri (Mi) 4
Edouble flat Midouble flat mi mef maw mu (Ray) 2
E Mi me me me mo Nu 3
E Mi mi mi mi ma Mi 4
E Mi mis mai me (Fa) 5
Edouble sharp Midouble sharp mish mi (Jur) 6
Fdouble flat Fadouble flat fa fof faw fu (Nu) 3
F Fa fo fe fo (Mi) 4
F Fa fa fa fa fa Fa 5
F Fa fi fe fi fe Jur 6
Fdouble sharp Fadouble sharp fes fai fi (Sol) 7
Gdouble flat Soldouble flat sol sulf saw su (Fa) 5
G Sol se sul se so Jur 6
G Sol sol sol so sa Sol 7
G Sol si sal si se Ki 8
Gdouble sharp Soldouble sharp sals sai si (La) 9
Adouble flat Ladouble flat la lof law lu (Sol) 7
A La le lo le lo Ki 8
A La la la la la La 9
A La li le li le Pe 10
Adouble sharp Ladouble sharp les lai li (Tsi) 11
Bdouble flat Sidouble flat si sef taw tu (La) 9
B Si te se te to Pe 10
B Si ti si ti ta Tsi 11
B Si sis tai te (Do) 0
Bdouble sharp Sidouble sharp sish ti (Ga) 1
A dash ("–") means that the source(s) did not specify a syllable.

Comparison of the two systems

Movable Do corresponds to our psychological experience of normal tunes. If the song is sung a tone higher it is still perceived to be the same song, and the notes have the same relationship to each other, but in a fixed Do all the note names would be different. A movable Do emphasizes the musicality of the tune as the psychological perception of the notes is always relative to a key for the vast majority of people that do not have absolute pitch.

Sotorrio[24] argues that fixed-do is preferable for serious musicians, as music involving complex modulations and vague tonality is often too ambiguous with regard to key for any movable system. That is, without a prior analysis of the music, any movable-do system would inevitably need to be used like a fixed-do system anyway, thus causing confusion. With fixed-do, the musician learns to regard any syllable as the tonic, which does not force them to make an analysis as to which note is the tonic when ambiguity occurs. Instead, with fixed-do the musician will already be practiced in thinking in multiple/undetermined tonalities using the corresponding syllables.

In comparison to the movable do system, which draws on short-term relative pitch skills involving comparison to a pitch identified as the tonic of the particular piece being performed, fixed do develops long-term relative pitch skills involving comparison to a pitch defined independently of its role in the piece, a practice closer to the definition of each note in absolute terms as found in absolute pitch. The question of which system to use is a controversial subject among music educators in schools in the United States. While movable do is easier to teach and learn, some feel that fixed do leads to stronger sight-reading and better ear training because students learn the relationships between specific pitches as defined independently, rather than only the function of intervals within melodic lines, chords, and chord progressions.[25] Of course, this argument is only valid if the fixed do is used with chromatic solfège syllables.

If a performer has been trained using fixed do, particularly in those rare cases in which the performer has absolute pitch or well-developed long-term relative pitch, the performer may have difficulty playing music scored for transposing instruments: Because the "concert pitch" note to be performed differs from the note written in the sheet music, the performer may experience cognitive dissonance when having to read one note and play another. Especially in the early stages of learning a piece, when the performer has yet to gain familiarity with the melodic line of the piece as expressed in relative terms, he or she may have to mentally re-transpose the sheet music in order to restore the notes to concert pitch.

Instrumentalists who begin sight-singing for the first time in college as music majors find movable do to be the system more consistent with the way they learned to read music.

For choirs, sight-singing fixed do using chromatic movable do syllables (see below) is more suitable than sight-singing movable do for reading atonal music, polytonal music, pandiatonic music, music that modulates or changes key often, or music in which the composer simply did not bother to write a key signature. It is not uncommon for this to be the case in modern or contemporary choral works.

Note names

In the countries with fixed-do, these seven syllables (with Si instead of Ti) are used to name the notes of the C-Major scale, instead of the letters C, D, E, F, G, A and B. (For example, they would say, "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is in Re minor, but its third movement is in Si-bemol major.") In Germanic countries, the letters are used for this purpose, and the solfège syllables are encountered only for their use in sight-singing and ear training. (They would say, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is in "d-Moll" (D minor).)

Cultural references

Songs

Literature

In King Lear (Act 1, Scene 2) Edmund exclaims to himself right after Edgar's entrance so that Edgar can hear him: "O, these eclipses do portend these divisions". Then in the 1623 First Folio (but not in the 1608 Quarto) he adds "Fa, so, la, mi". This Edmund probably sang (see Elizabethan solmisation) to the tune of Fa, So, La, Ti (e.g. F, G, A, B in C major), i.e. an ascending sequence of three whole tones with an ominous feel to it: see tritone (historical uses).

Colours assigned by Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton[citation needed] had associated the seven solfège syllables with the seven colours of the rainbow and surmised that each colour vibrated accordingly (a concept possibly related to the modern view of chromesthesia). Thus, red has the least amount of vibration while violet vibrates the most.

Pitch Solfège Colour
C do (or doh in tonic sol-fa) Red
D re Orange
E mi Yellow
F fa Green
G sol (or so in tonic sol-fa) Blue
A la Indigo
Blue Violet
B ti/si Purple
Red Violet

See also

References

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  2. Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Ed.(1998)[page needed]
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  7. Davies, Norman (1997), Europe, pp.271-2
  8. Cgregorian chant - Translation & scores for diverse festivities
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  10. This also freed up Si for later use as Sol-sharp
  11. Thesaurus Linguarum Orientalum (1680) OCLC 61900507
  12. Essai sur la Musique Ancienne et Moderne (1780) OCLC 61970141
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  15. (¯`Description de l’Egypte Digital Collection`¯)
  16. Miller 1973, p. 244.
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  23. Sotorrio, José A (2002). Tone Spectra -and the Natural Elements of Music. (1st Ed) Spectral Music, 2002. (Presents a simple 12-tone Solfège: Do (Ga) Re (Nu) Mi Fa (Jer) Sol (Ki) La (Pe) and Tsi, a written compromise between "Ti" and "si".]
  24. Sotorrio, José A (2002). Tone Spectra -and the Natural Elements of Music. (1st Ed) Spectral Music, 2002.
  25. Humphries, Lee. Learning to Sight-Sing: The Mental Mechanics of Aural Imagery. Minneapolis: Thinking Applied, 2008, No. 1.

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