Origin of "Do Re Me..."?

[Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil]

@zombywoof

Chord means chord - a C chord, say, is never referred to as a “do chord”.

Not sure I understand yor post correctly but in French we use “do, ré, mi…” for both notes and chords. So, for instance:

Do = C (note)
Do Majeur = C Major (chord)
Do dièse = C# (note)
Do dièse mineur = C# minor (chord)

[Moe]

In Italian too. Here’s an example of sheet music with solfege syllables for the chords. I actually had to sightread from Italian lead sheets a couple of times and I was glad I was trained in fixed do.

Incidentally in German the notes are letters as in English (with the annoying exception of the H/B thing).

[pulykamell]

@Moe

In Italian too. Here’s an example of sheet music with solfege syllables for the chords. I actually had to sightread from Italian lead sheets a couple of times and I was glad I was trained in fixed do.

Incidentally in German the notes are letters as in English (with the annoying exception of the H/B thing).

Thanks for this! Pretty fascinating for me to see a lead sheet like that. Good to know just in case I ever run across it.

[Moe]

@pulykamell

There’s an explanation here on Wikipedia. I mean, basically, it starts with the letters, of course. Now why “C” instead of “A” being the base note, I’m not entirely sure. My guess is that the Aeolian mode (which is what A-B-C-D-E-F-G comprises) was more common when the system developed, and then our common major scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B) developed from that. But I don’t know. It’s an interesting question, and I’d be curious to what others have to say.

Interesting to read the wiki. I honestly don’t know why the letters fall the way they do and I’ve never heard an explanation, but I would generally agree with you. The major scale that we hear as so common and normal to our western ears didn’t really become a thing until some 5 or 6 centuries after the earliest written music, probably during the Renaissance. So it was probably somewhat just chance that C happened to be the note that emerged as the common major scale tonic.

The only thing I would suggest is it might actually have been the Dorian mode that was most popular which would actually also explain it (and vaguely coincides with my memory of learning about early music). The modal center of the scale (commonly called the “final” because it was always the last note) was only sometimes the lowest note, and other times right in the middle (extending a 4th below and above). Thus, D Dorian would extend from A to G (I think. I’m sure I’ll check wiki right after I post and be corrected).

[Moe]

@Moe

and other times right in the middle (extending a 4th below and above). Thus, D Dorian would extend from A to G (I think. I’m sure I’ll check wiki right after I post and be corrected).

Well, not exactly but it was the “Hypodorian” that I was thinking of. It’s too much for me to parse right now, but in any case, I’m not sure I’m any closer to the answer of why the musical alphabet begins where it does.

[Cartooniverse]

My Ex is a music teacher, heavily trained in The Kodaly Method. It always made her brains explode when we would watch Close Encounters of The Third Kind, which perverts The Kodaly Method remarkably.