Lesson 3 :: Naming the Notes
|
Tones Have Value
When we go know about a tone, every tone we can sing or play has a specific value. We can measure that value scientifically, and use that value to describe the tone - or, more precisely, its pitch. If that’s too complicated, we also can assign an arbitrary name to each tone (also called as NOTE).
Naming tones in The Solfeggio Method
| Tone Order | Name | Pronunciation |
| 1 |
Do |
Doh |
| 2 |
Re |
Ray |
| 3 |
Mi |
Mee |
| 4 |
Fa |
Fah |
| 5 |
So (Sol)
|
So |
| 6 |
La |
Lah |
| 7 |
Ti |
Tee |
Important Note:
It’s important to know that the Solfeggio method is relative way of naming musical tones. That is, the first note in a scale is always number one, and is always called Do. The second tone is always number two, and is always called Re. It doesn’t matter what actual tone you start with, these names always apply.
The problem with using relative naming is that it doesn’t tell us what precise pitch to start with. You might start your Do Re Mi on a low pitch, and your neighbor might start hers on a higher pitch, and your duet will end up sounding like two water buffaloes in heat.
And that’s not good.
Now, what we need is a way to designate specific pitches - without resorting to the cumbersome frequency method.
Naming tones in Alphabets
The accepted way of naming specific musical pitches uses the first seven letters of the alphabet - A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. While the numbering method is relative (the number 1 can be assigned to any pitch), the letter method is absolute.
This means that A always refers to a specific frequency. When you tell someone to sing or play an A, they’ll always sing or play the same pitch.
Notes on a Piano Keyboard
|
|
|
