What is the point of fixed-do solfège?

Greg Vincent · From: Folsom, CA USA

Hi folks,

My wife studied classical violin using fixed-do solfège. I had never heard of such a thing. The result is that we do not at all speak the same musical language.
If a C note is always “Do”, regardless of key, what is the point? Why not skip all that and just properly describe it as C? Where is the advantage?

—Confused in Folsom

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

In French and Italian Do means C, Re means D etc.
It's not solfeggio as we think of it, just the names of the notes in those languages.
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Douglas Schuch · From: Valencia, Philippines

It seems to me it's just language. "C", "Do", "Sa" (India), "dal" (Arabic) - they are just language. I suppose there is a mild advantage in using the alphabet to represent notes in that we generally learn the alphabet very young, so the order is ingrained in our head. But beyond that, they are just vocal and/or written representations of sound frequencies that we use to make music. So long as any particular word is instantly understood by your brain to mean a specific note, it matters not what you call it.
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Bill McCloskey · Posted 18 Jul 2024 6:18 pm

Classical violin is tuned JI based on a root note. It isn't like a piano. So I can see how a fixed Do could work for stringed instruments. But I'd find it confusing as heck.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I like this article - https://www.teaching-children-music.com/2012/10/movable-do-vs-fixed-do/

Movable-do is, more or less, equivalent to the number system - Do or 1 is always the tonic, so intervals are consistent, regardless of key. In other words, intervals are based on relative pitch. My classical piano training was always movable-do, which makes sense because all keys are essentially equivalent in terms of relative pitch intervals. But I prefer to think in movable-do or numbers, regardless of how I have tuned. Guitar is close to equal temperament, steel is closer to just. But the root, or do, still moves with the key.

I guess for absolute pitch training, fixed-do makes sense. A C has an absolute pitch in Hz, as does Db, D, E, and so on. Some instruments are tuned like that, so fixed-do is simply consistent with the way the instrument is tuned. I guess I'm not sure I understand why that would be an advantage for a non-fixed pitch instrument like violin (or steel guitar), but maybe I'm missing something.

Personally, pure fixed-do would drive me nuts on a non-fixed pitch instrument because, mathematically, it complicates the interval relationships when in any key except for the key in which the notes are tuned. So, for example, if do is C and all the other notes in the scale are justly tuned, then intervals will be all messed up when you move to other keys. So to maintain just intervals without any concept of a movable root, one needs to have all those adjustments internalized for all keys, and without the structure of a relative pitch system. I imagine plenty of musicians deal with this, but it seems to complicate things a lot, to me.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

We should distinguish clearly between Tonic Sol-fa, where Do is always the tonic regardless of key, and languages where Do is the note C, also regardless of key.

The former is found in choral music for the benefit of amateur singers, the latter in French and Italian scores, for instance to indicate a transposing instrument such as "Clarinette en La".
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Greg Vincent · From: Folsom, CA USA

This is fascinating stuff, folks. Thanks for the replies!

On a related note, are symphonic violinists taught not to use their open A string (tuned 440) as a major third of an F?

John Larson · From: Pennsyltucky, USA

We use movable do solfege in the SATB Church choir I sing in but we change keys often. I could see fixed Do for fixed key instruments. Are concert violinists trained using a fixed key center to help train their ear?
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Ian · From: San Francisco, CA

Dave,

Thank you so much for posting that article. A bit of a head spinner but very informative.

Ian

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

The open A string on the violin is chosen for tone colour or technical convenience, not intonation - it's just an A. Valid question, but who is defining the F that it might be the third of? A bunch of other violins, some horn at the back of the stage?
String players don't think in terms of any system of temperament. They just do their best as part of a human chorus box. The open strings that were all perfectly in tune at the start of the evening will all be subtly different by half time anyway.
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