Solfege and the Notion of Keys

Lesson Goal: To learn how to use Solfege to think about and hear melodies in functional terms…

Table of Contents

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Prerequisites

Basic music reading… LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.

back to… Table of Contents

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What is Solfege?

Solfege is the the system of assigning easy to sing single syllable names to the notes in any scale. This serve as a way to connect and interalize these names to the way each note sounds, feels, and functions within a key.

learn more: Solfege (Wikipedia)

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“Fixed Do” or “Moveable Do”?

You will hear some theoreticians talk about “fixed Do” and “moveable Do” Solfege. “Fixed Do” might make sense if you have perfect pitch, but is redundant as we already have a system of letter names for each pitch.

Piano-ology uses “moveable Do” for one reason: It’s the only Solfege system that accurately and naturally describes how scales and tonal music works… and matches the way that the overwhelming majority of humans perceive and enjoy music. In other words, this is not a choice at all, but the way that music works!

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Solfege and the Notion of Keys

Did you know that you can play a melody starting on any of the twelve possible notes?

For example, you can play “Twinkle, Twinkle” starting on the note C…

But you can also play starting on the note G…

or starting on the note Eb…

Notice that the Solfege syllables are exactly the same no matter what note you start on!

In fact, you can play “Twinkle, Twinkle” (or any other melody) starting on any of the twelve physical keys on the piano.

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How Many Keys are There?

Since there are twelve possible physical keys on the piano, there are twelve possible physical “keys” in which you can play a piece of music. But, while there are twelve physical keys, at least fifteen keys theoretically possible: no sharps or flats in the key signature, up to seven sharps in the key signature, and up to seven flats in the key signature.

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in All Fifteen Possible Keys

Here is “Twinkle, Twinkle” written out and played in all fifteen theoretical keys arranged around the cycle from seven sharps to seven flats…

As you read, play, and sing along notice the following…

1. Do always sounds and feels like Do, So always sounds and feels like So, La always sounds and feels like La, and so on… no matter what key you are in!
2. The “shape” of the melody in the score is identical, no matter what key you are in.
3. When you change keys, all the letter names of the notes change, but the Solfege names remain exactly the same. The letter names change because they are arbitrary, but the Solfege names remain the same because they represent the inherent melodic-harmonic function of each note no matter what key you are in.

“Twinkle, Twinkle” in C# Major

Don’t merely passively listen to these sound bits. Read the score as you play and sing the Solfege syllables out loud. Doing so is a highly effective way to internalize the sound, feeling, and function of each note in the melody!!!

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in F# Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in B Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in E Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in A Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in D Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in G Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in C Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in F Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in Bb Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in Eb Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in Ab Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in Db Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in Gb Major

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” in Cb Major

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Understanding these concepts is essential for understanding how scales and melodies work and lays a solid foundation that facilitates ear training, reading, memorization, transposition, composition, and improvisation.