Solfeggi and the Acquisition of Style

Abstract

In the old conservatories the equivalent of “music 101” was the class in solfeggio. This was where beginning students learned to read music, to distinguish the sizes of intervals, and to learn scales and arpeggios. Today syllables like “Do, Re, Mi” are connected with scale degrees (steps 1, 2, 3 respectively). This was not the case originally. “Mi,” for example, meant a tone with a whole step below it in the scale and a half step above it. Thus both “E,” “B,” and “F♯” were all “Mi.” Similarly, “F,” “C,” and “B♭” were all “Fa.” The chapter details how this worked and gives examples of lessons in the old style of solfeggio.