What's the Solfege again?

August 29, 2006 at 2:01 pm | Posted in Musicianship | Leave a comment

Yes, the chromatics can be confusing at first. Just start with a simple Major scale. In the picture above, start on the middle line and follow it from left to right.

Do – Re – Mi – Fa – Sol – La – Ti – Do

Now, to sing a natural, or pure minor scale, we know that the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are lowered. Thus, Mi becomes Me, La become Le, and Ti becomes Te. When you follow the chart this time, dip down to the bottom row for the 3rd, 6th and 7th notes.

Do – Re – Me – Fa – Sol – Le – Te – Do

The ascending Melodic Minor scale, of course, uses a minor tetrachord followed by a major tetra chord. So we take the first 4 notes from the minor, and the next four from the major.

Do – Re – Me – Fa (minor)

Sol – La – Ti – Do (major)

The descending melodic minor scale is the same as the natural minor scale.

Do – Te – Le – Sol – Fa – Me – Re – Do

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