Solfège
/sɒlˈfɛʒ/noun
A system for teaching musical pitch and sight-singing using syllables such as do, re, mi, fa, sol, and la.
Did you know?The original syllables came from the opening words of a hymn to John the Baptist, including Latin words meaning “servants” and “free.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sóh₂wl̥
“Sun; the ancient root behind later Latin words for the sun”
Classical Latin
Latin
sōl
“Sun”
11th Century
Medieval Latin
ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la
“Singing syllables drawn from the opening syllables of lines in the hymn traditionally attributed to Paul the Deacon”
16th Century
Italian
solfeggio
“The practice of singing musical notes with syllables”
18th Century
French
solfège
“A system of musical instruction using pitch syllables”
Modern English
English
solfège
“Training in pitch, sight-singing, and musical notation through syllables”
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