Do Re Mi: Solfège Syllables and Kodály Hand Signs

Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do are the solfège syllables for the eight notes of a major scale. In movable do, do is always the key note: C in C major, G in G major. Kodály hand signs show each syllable, from a fist at the waist for do to one at eye level for high do.

Updated 1 November 2026 · By the Classfern Music Department

UKUSWorks in the UK and the US. This version uses US words and grades (measure, staff, quarter note, elementary school); the UK version uses bar, stave, crotchet and Key Stages. · UK version of this page

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Key facts

• The syllables, as sung in the US: do re mi fa sol la ti do′ (UK tonic sol-fa: doh ray me fah soh lah te doh; many teachers write “so” for sol).
• Movable do: do is always the key note, so the syllables fit any key. Fixed do (France, Italy, Spain): do is always C.
• The half steps in a major scale fall at mi–fa and ti–do′.
• John Curwen (1816–1880) added the hand signs to his tonic sol-fa method in England; Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967) adapted them for his method.
• Guido of Arezzo named ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la in the 11th century from the hymn Ut queant laxis.

What does do re mi mean?

Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la and ti are solfège syllables: names for the seven notes of a scale that you can sing. In the common movable-do system, do is the key note, re the second note, mi the third, and so on up to ti, with do again at the octave. They help singers hear and read the shape of a tune in any key.

The syllables are about a thousand years old. In the 11th century the monk Guido of Arezzo used the first syllable of each line of the Latin hymn Ut queant laxis – ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la – because each line started one note higher. Ut later became do (in deference to the Italian theorist Giovanni Battista Doni), si was added for the seventh note, and in 19th-century England Sarah Glover changed si to ti so that every syllable starts with a different letter. (The 1959 show tune “Do-Re-Mi” is still in copyright, so its words are not printed here; the syllables themselves are centuries old.)

Solfège player and echo game

Pick a key, then press a syllable to hear it and see its hand sign. In the echo game you hear a short pattern: sing it back with the hand signs, then check.

Key (where do is) C major (do = C4)D major (do = D4)E♭ major (do = E♭4)F major (do = F4)G major (do = G3)A major (do = A3)B♭ major (do = B♭3)

doremifasollatido′

Play the scale up and down

Echo game

Self-assessed Sing the pattern back, then press “Show the answer” and mark yourself honestly.

Level Level 1: sol and miLevel 2: sol, mi and laLevel 3: do, re and miLevel 4: the pentatonic notesLevel 5: the whole scalePlay a pattern

Sounds are made in your browser. This tool never uses the microphone, and nothing is recorded, saved or sent.

What are the solfège hand signs?

Solfège hand signs (Curwen or Kodály hand signs) give each syllable a hand shape: do is a fist, re a hand slanting up, mi a flat hand, fa a fist with the thumb down, sol a flat hand facing you, la a drooping hand and ti a finger pointing up. Each sign is made a little higher than the one before.

The shapes carry meaning: ti points up because it wants to rise to do′, and fa’s thumb points down because it tends to fall to mi. Making the signs while singing helps children feel how high or low a note is, and lets a teacher “conduct” a tune silently for the class to sing.

What is the Kodály method?

The Kodály method is a way of teaching music through singing, developed in Hungary in the mid-20th century by the composer Zoltán Kodály’s colleagues and students, and taught in Hungarian schools from 1945. It starts with simple folk songs and singing games, uses movable-do solfège with hand signs for pitch, and rhythm names such as “ta” and “ti-ti” for rhythm, so children sing and read music before they play an instrument.

Kodály teaching usually starts with the two notes sol and mi (the “cuckoo” call), then adds la, then do and re to make the five-note pentatonic scale, before fa and ti. The echo game above follows the same order. It is widely used in US elementary music programs.

What is the difference between movable do and fixed do?

In movable do, do moves with the key: it is C in C major and D in D major, so the same syllables always mean the same place in the scale. In fixed do, used in France, Italy, Spain and much of Latin America, do always means the note C, re always D, and so on, like letter names.

For minor keys, Kodály teachers usually use “la-based minor”: the minor key note is la, so A minor runs la ti do re mi fa sol la. Some American teachers prefer “do-based minor” with changed syllables (do re me fa sol le te do). For sharpened notes, US solfège uses di, ri, fi, si and li; for flattened notes ra, me, se, le and te.

How do you practice solfège?

Practice solfège a little every day: sing the major scale up and down on the syllables with the hand signs, then sing short patterns such as do–mi–sol and sol–la–sol–mi, and finally sing simple tunes from notation using syllables instead of words.

1. Find do: play the key note (the player above does this) and hum it before you start.
2. Scale with signs: once up and down, slowly, making each sign at its own height.
3. Leaps from do: do–mi, do–sol, do–do′ and back, checking each with the player.
4. Echo: play the echo game at the level you can do easily, then one level harder.
5. Read: sing a tune you know, such as “Hot Cross Buns” (mi re do), on syllables before the words.

Solfège quiz

Marked by Classfern 5 multiple-choice questions on the Classfern lesson engine. Your answers stay on this device.

Start the quiz

Classroom idea: sing and sign sol and mi

A 15-minute first solfège lesson for kindergarten to grade 2 (ages 5–8). Use the player above in C, so sol is G and mi is E.

1. Hello song (3 minutes): sing “hel-lo” on sol–mi; the class echoes.
2. Add the signs (3 minutes): sol is a flat hand facing you at chest height, mi a flat hand palm down a little lower.
3. Silent conductor (4 minutes): sign short patterns without singing; the class sings what you show.
4. Pupil leaders (3 minutes): volunteers sign a pattern for the class.
5. Check (2 minutes): Judged by a teacher or parent (rubric) sings sol and mi in tune; shows the right sign; can lead a pattern of three notes.

Classfern’s free solfège player is part of the Classfern Music Department at lessonplanner.info. The notes are played on the Classfern piano in your browser; the microphone is never used.

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