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The problem it solves
Scores, apps and especially chord charts mix the two systems. If you only know one, you get stuck when you run into the other — a chart in letters, or a method book in Do-Re-Mi.
Detailed theory
Key idea
C=Do, D=Re, E=Mi, F=Fa, G=Sol, A=La, B=Si.
The letter system is the one used to write chord symbols.
Understand it
There are two traditions for naming notes. The letter system (C, D, E, F, G, A, B), dominant in the English-speaking world and in modern music; and the solfège system (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si), used in Catalan, Spanish, French, Italian and many other languages.
The correspondence is fixed: C=Do, D=Re, E=Mi, F=Fa, G=Sol, A=La and B=Si. One thing that trips people up: the musical alphabet starts at A=La and runs A, B, C..., but the reference you already know, middle C, is the letter C.
Chord symbols (the C, G7 or Am that sit above a song's lyrics) almost always use letters. So even if you think in solfège, it pays to read the letters fluently.
It's like knowing that 'dog' and 'gos' are the same thing in two languages: the animal doesn't change, only the word. Here the note —the sound— is the same; C and Do are just two translations of it.
How to recognise it
How it's written
A single letter (C, D, E...) or a solfège name (Do, Re, Mi...) is a note; a letter followed by symbols (Cm, C7) is a chord built on that note.
How it feels
Your ear notices no difference: a C and a Do sound exactly the same because they are the same sound. The change is only in vocabulary, not in tone.
Common mistake
Thinking A is Do: the letter system starts its alphabet at La (A), so Do is C, not A.
Confusing a note-name letter with a chord: a lone C is the note Do, but Cm is already a chord (C minor).
Try it
Say the correspondence out loud going up: C-Do, D-Re, E-Mi, F-Fa, G-Sol, A-La, B-Si.
Take a score written in solfège and translate each Do-Re-Mi to the letter you already know.
On the instrument
Staff & keyboard
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The same seven notes you already know. Use the C-D-E / Do-Re-Mi switch above to see them in both systems: the keys and the sound don't change, only the name.
Where it's used
- Reading any score or chart
- Recognising a note whether it's written as C or as Do.
- Following international resources
- Using methods, software and scores from any country, in either naming system.
Examples
Chord progression
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Chord symbols are written with letters: C is the C major chord and G is the G major chord. The sound is the usual one, only the spelling changes.
Exercises
Read notes by letter name
Identify notes written with the letter system (C, D, E...).
Complete 10 attempts · 70% accuracy to pass
Read notes with letters (C-D-E)
Name the natural notes using the letters of the letter system.
Complete 10 attempts · 70% accuracy to pass
Read notes in solfège (Do-Re-Mi)
Name the natural notes using the solfège names.
Complete 10 attempts · 70% accuracy to pass
Mini test
Check that you've got it.
0/6 answeredQuestion 1/6
Which letter corresponds to Do?