tonic solfa
- noun
- /ˈtɒnɪk ˈsɒlfə/
- UK
:
solfeo
- Many children learn to sing using the tonic solfa system in school music classes.
Examples
-
The choir practiced sight-reading by following the tonic solfa notation of the piece.
-
She quickly identified the melody in tonic solfa, moving from do to sol.
-
We learned about tonic solfa in music class.
-
Do you understand tonic solfa?
-
Many children learn to sing using the tonic solfa system in school music classes.
-
The choir practiced sight-reading by following the tonic solfa notation of the piece.
-
We learned about tonic solfa in music class to understand musical scales.
Synonyms
A system that uses syllables like do re mi to name notes to teach singers
A system that teaches singing and pitch using syllables like do, re, mi
A simple way to teach music by giving each scale note a syllable like do re mi
A way to teach singing using the syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term combines 'tonic' (the home note of a scale) with 'solfa' (a method for teaching singing pitches), so its meaning as a system using syllables to indicate scale degrees is directly inferable from the parts. Although somewhat technical, the composition is literal and follows expected musical naming patterns, and similar solfège/tonic-solfa systems exist cross-linguistically, making it understandable to learners who know the constituent words.
Etymology
Tonic solfa is named from two parts: tonic meaning the 'home' or main note, and solfa meaning the sung syllables 'do, re, mi'. Singers used those syllables to move from the home note and learn a tune, so tonic solfa means a simple way to show and sing scale notes by syllables.
