Nova Zhang
Do-Re-Mi, a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, is a song that has been used to teach the solfège of the major musical scale. Solfège is a notational system that assigns syllables to the notes of a scale, aiding musicians in audiating or mentally hearing the pitches of a piece of music. The song Do-Re-Mi is a great example of this, as it teaches the solfège syllables by linking them with English homophones or near-homophones. For example, Doe, a deer, a female deer refers to the first solfège syllable, Do. Learning solfège helps to understand different tones and internalize the sound of various scale degrees, which can be useful for singing and composing music.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of notes | 7 |
| Notes | Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So(l), La, Ti (or Si) |
| Used for | Teaching beginners pitch and melody |
| Syllables | Assigned to notes of the scale |
| Purpose | Assist musicians in audiating or mentally hearing the pitches of a piece of music |
| Fixed Do | Each syllable corresponds to the same pitch |
| Movable Do | Each syllable is assigned to a scale degree rather than a specific note |
| Example | "Doe, a deer, a female deer. Ray, a drop of golden sun. Me, a name I call myself. Far, a long, long way to run. Sew, a needle pulling thread. La, a note to follow Sew. Tea, a drink with jam and bread. That will bring us back to Do." |
Explore related products
The song 'Do-Re-Mi'
"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. The song was created to teach the solfège of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children, who learn to sing for the first time. Each syllable of the musical solfège system appears in the song's lyrics, sung on the pitch it names. The lyrics teach the solfège syllables by linking them with English homophones (or near-homophones).
The fourteen-note and tune lyric, "when you know the notes to sing...", were provided by Rodgers and Hammerstein, while the rest of the lyrics came from Trude Rittmann, who also devised the extended vocal sequence in the song. Within the context of the musical, the song is used by the governess Maria to teach the solfège of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children.
In the stage version, Maria sings the song in the living room of Captain von Trapp's house shortly after she introduces herself to the children. However, in the 1965 film adaptation, the song appears later in the story. In the film, Maria and the children sing this song over a montage as they wander and frolic over Salzburg. This version peaked at #1 in the Philippines.
The song features wordplay with English words that sound like the solfège syllables, so foreign versions of the song do not translate the English lyrics. Instead, they use the local solfège and associate each syllable with a meaning in the native language. For example, when The Sound of Music was translated into German in 2005 for the Vienna Volksoper, the song "Do-Re-Mi" was rewritten as "C wie Cellophanpapier". The solfège syllables were replaced with the letters C through H, and the mnemonics were words that began with each letter.
Flip Phones: Text Sounds and Their Appeal
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Solfège syllables
Solfège, also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, and solfeggio, is a mnemonic used in teaching aural skills, pitch, and sight-reading of Western music. It is a form of solmization, a system of denoting the pitches of a musical scale by syllables. Solfège is derived from the names of two of the syllables used: sol and fa. The verb "to sol-fa" means to sing the solfège syllables of a passage instead of singing the lyrics or humming.
Solfège is a singing exercise that applies sol-fa syllables to a musical scale or melody. 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", and so on. The tonic sol-fa method popularized the seven syllables commonly used in English-speaking countries: do (spelled doh in tonic sol-fa), re, mi, fa, so(l), la, and ti (or si).
The use of "fa", "sol" and "la" for two positions in the scale is a leftover from the Guidonian system of so-called "mutations" (changes of hexachord on a note). This system was largely eliminated by the 19th century but is still used in some shape-note systems. An example of this type of solmization occurs in Shakespeare's King Lear, where Edmund exclaims, "Fa, so, la, mi", likely sung to the tune of Fa, So, La, Ti (e.g. F, G, A, B in C major).
The show tune "Do-Re-Mi" from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music features each syllable of the musical solfège system. Within the story, it is used by the governess Maria to teach the solfège of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children.
Laryngomalacia: Why Do Babies Sound Congested?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Movable do
Passages in a minor key can be sol-faed in two ways in movable do: "do-based minor", where "do" keeps pointing to the same note, and "la-based minor", where the scale is transposed to a different note.
Poetic Sound: The Music of Verse
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Fixed do
In Fixed Do, "Do" is always "C", no matter what key the music is in. This is analogous to the Romance-language system naming pitches after the solfège syllables, and is used in Romance and Slavic countries, including Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Romania, and Latin America. In these countries, the syllables Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si are the ordinary names of the notes, in the same way that the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, and B are used to name notes in English.
The use of Fixed Do is a subject of debate among musicians, with some arguing that it helps to develop perfect pitch. However, others claim that the benefits of Fixed Do over Movable Do are unproven and potentially dubious, and that a good tonal relative pitch is more useful for most applications. Ultimately, it is generally agreed that what matters most for a musician is to develop a strong sense of relative and absolute pitch, and that there are multiple systems that can be used to achieve this.
AirPods Max: Do They Leak Sound?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
$6.45 $6.45
$39.66 $44.99
The Sound of Music
"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. The song was used by the governess Maria to teach the solfège of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children, who learn to sing for the first time. Maria teaches the children that "Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do" are the tools you use to build a song. Once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million different tunes by mixing them up.
The song lyrics teach the solfège syllables by linking them with English homophones (or near-homophones). For example, "Doe: a deer, a female deer", "Ray: a drop of golden sun", "Me: a name I call myself", "Far: a long, long way to run", "Sew: a needle pulling thread", "La: a note to follow sew", and "Tea: a drink with jam and bread".
The song was written by Oscar Hammerstein II, who knew he wanted to use "a word for every note, a note for every word". The song was also used during a scene that begins at a picnic in the hills and travels all over Salzburg.
When The Sound of Music was translated into German in 2005 for the Vienna Volksoper, the song "Do-Re-Mi" was rewritten as "C wie Cellophanpapier". The solfège syllables were replaced with the letters C through H, and the mnemonics were words that began with each letter.
Effective Sounds to Repel Rats from Your Home
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 musical "The Sound of Music". It is used by the governess Maria to teach the solfège of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children, who learn to sing for the first time.
The "Do-Re-Mi" sounds are used to help understand different tones and to build a song. Once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million different tunes by mixing them up.
The "Do-Re-Mi" notes are: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So/Sol, La, Ti (or Si).
The "Do-Re-Mi" notes can be used as a tool to build a song by assigning each note to a word in the lyrics. For example, in "Do-Re-Mi", the notes correspond to the following words: Doe, Ray, Me, Far, Sew, La, and Tea.
