Music Tip #27 Do-Re-Mi

Have you heard of “solfege”? You have if you’ve ever watched the movie “The Sound of Music”. Remember the song, “Do-a deer, a female deer, re-a drop of golden sun, mi- a name I call my self” etc. This clever song teaches the solfege pitches by tying them to a familiar English word. Each solfege pitch also has a hand sign. http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/training/handsigns.asp

Solfege is taught in many elementary-high school music classes. It develops good sight reading skills in children and music students. This semester I am incorporating it into my ASU Tiny Tots class.

The sol-mi pitches are the first pitches sung by small children. These are the two pitches you sang as a child when playing and calling to a friend to come chase you, “nanny, nanny, you hoo”. These are also the two pitches in most early childhood songs such as “rain, rain go away” or “peek a boo, I see you”, or “ashes, ashes we all fall down.” The sol-mi pitches are an interval of a third. They are always on the same team, meaning, if sol is on a line, then mi is on the next line down. If sol is on a space, then mi is the next space down.

Now you’ve learned everything you ever wanted to learn about sol and mi!