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[Natetan]

What system does your country use for music?

Being an American, I never knew do-re-mi was used for anything other than that song in The Sound of Music.

So I'm going with A B C

For reference: http://music.stackexchange.com/ques...onship-between-do-re-mi-and-note-letter-names

 

[Mammoth Jones]

ti la so fa mi re do!

 

[terrisus]

Do, a deer, a female deer
Re, a drop of golden sun
Mi, a name I call myself
Fa, a long, long way to run
So, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow So
Ti, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do

 

[WyndhamPrice]

Do re mi is used for the constant intervals of a major scale (with do, re, and mi being the first three notes starting from the root) and can be used in any key, A B C etc. are the actual notes as they would appear if written.

 

[nomster]

As an American, I've never heard of A B C being used for music in the same context as do re mi.

 

[Forearms]

Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do

I prefer the Japanese version... mostly because of the donuts.

DO wa DONATSU no DO
Lit. “Do” is the do from “donuts.”
In Japanese, “Donuts” becomes a three-syllable word, “do-na-tsu,” so this fits.

RE wa REMON no RE
“Re” is the re from “remon” (=lemon)
“Lemon” in Japanese is “Remon.” (pronunciation difference)

MI wa minna no MI
“Mi” is for “minna” (=everyone)

FA wa FAITO no FA
“Fa” is for “Faito” (“faito”=”fight,” except that in Japanese it’s used as an encouragement, like “do your best!” And in Korea, you can say “fighting!” to the same effect. Fun times.)

SO wa aoi sora
“So” is for “aoi sora” (=”blue sky”)

RA wa RAPPA no RA
“Ra” is for “rappa” (=trumpet/horn)

SHI wa shiawase yo
“Shi is for “shiawase” (=happiness)
You may or may not have noticed that this is the “Ti” line in English that goes, “Tea, a drink with jam and bread.” You can sort of make the “ti” sound in Japanese by putting the “te” テ and “i” ィ sounds together to produce “ti” (te + i = ti!”), but whoever translated this seems to have made the switch from “ti” to “shi,” which is an easier/normal sound.

Sa, utaimashou
Well then, let’s sing!

 

[Ahasverus]

Both are kind of nonsensical, but abcd is super cold.

 

[lenovox1]

Do re mi is used for the constant intervals of a major scale and can be used in any key, A B C etc. are the actual notes as they would appear if written.

Right. Natetan, you're conflating two different systems.

 

[Cartman86]

Ehhh do re mi is not really a "system". A,B,C etc are used everywhere to my knowledge. Those are the literal names of notes.

 

[terrisus]

I prefer the Japanese version... mostly because of the donuts.

 

[clav]

Fixed Do or Movable Do?

Instrumentalists: #TeamFixedDo
Vocalists: #TeamMovableDo

Do re mi is used for the constant intervals of a major scale (with do, re, and mi being the first three notes starting from the root) and can be used in any key, A B C etc. are the actual notes as they would appear if written.

If you play keyboard or piano, read vocal music or orchestral music and arrange it on the fly. Prepare to be mind fucked with alto and tenor clef but then you will be a wizard.

 

[terrisus]

Also, this

 

[Aeriscloud]

Both, I think, and numbers.

 

[xptoxyz]

I always thought it was anglo-saxon vs romance languages.

 

[Ryaaan14]

The ABC song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

 

[Feep]

Well, they're both as easy as each other.

 

[dluu13]

Do re mi is relative pitch in reference to the tones of a major scale, a b c is absolute. For example in the key of c major, c is do (the first tone), where as in g major c is fa (the fourth tone).

Knowing the do re mi is very useful for learning to play by ear, and ABC is useful for learning to read music.

 

[The Boat]

Do Re Mi, I always have a hard time "converting" from one system to another.

 

[GrizzNKev]

What?

They have nothing to do with each other. A scale can start on any letter. In the common vocal moveable Do, Do is the starting note of a scale.

 

[Salmonax]

Do Re Mi, because when you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything.

 

[Boogie9IGN]

The ABC song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

 

[Oveja Negra]

Crap, I've always believed those were the same concept with just different notation.

themoreyouknow.jpg

 

[FOOTE]

As an American, I've never heard of A B C being used for music in the same context as do re mi.

Yeah, da fuq is this.

 

[sixteen-bit]

i'm familiar with do re mi

 

[RevDM]

Do, a deer, a female deer
Re, a drop of golden sun
Mi, a name I call myself
Fa, a long, long way to run
So, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Ti, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do

What rhymes with hug me?

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I actually only found out recently that some countries use "Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do" as the names of each individual note instead of "A B C D E F G". Interesting how that works.

 

[TheGoddamn]

The ABC song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

And so is Baa Baa Black Sheep.

When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything!

(Doe me me, me sew sew, ray far far, la tea tea!)

 

[RoadHazard]

As has been said, they don't refer to the same thing.

I'm familiar with do-re-mi, but I've never actually been taught it in any music class that I can remember (and I've had a lot of music education). For intervals it was always 3rd, 5th, etc.

I actually only found out recently that some countries use "Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do" as the names of each individual note instead of "A B C D E F G". Interesting how that works.

They don't. "Do" can be A or D or F or whatever, it depends on what key you're in.

EDIT: Wikipedia just proved me wrong:

In the major Romance and Slavic languages, the syllables Do (Ut for the French), Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, and Si are used to name notes the same way that the letters C, D, E, F, G, A, and B are used to name notes in English.

So... do people in these countries only use the C major scale, or what? Don't really understand.

 

[Hypron]

I didn't know about this A B C stuff before moving to an anglo-saxon country. I was only taught do-re-mi back in France.

I looked that up on wikipedia and apparently the way they're used in France (and some other countries) is different from the way they're used in England/USA/etc. do-re-mi in France/Spain/... = C-D-E in the US/Uk/...

 

[RoadHazard]

I didn't know about this A B C stuff before moving to an anglo-saxon country. I was only taught do-re-mi back in France.

So you didn't know about keys, at all? How did you know what notes to actually play, considering that "do-re-mi" can refer to "C-D-E", "G-A-B", "B-C#-D#", etc? Or was there no playing involved, just singing by ear? Then, sure, just being aware of intervals is enough I guess. I can't imagine anyone actually playing music without knowing about keys.

 

[Stet]

Do is usually C so why not go with the more precise notation?

Only real question is whether or not you use 1 + or ta, ti, etc.

 

[mokeyjoe]

What?

They have nothing to do with each other. A scale can start on any letter. In the common vocal moveable Do, Do is the starting note of a scale.

Fixed Do is used in some places.

 

[dvolovets]

Do re mi is used for the constant intervals of a major scale (with do, re, and mi being the first three notes starting from the root) and can be used in any key, A B C etc. are the actual notes as they would appear if written.

I remember encountering this when taking theory courses and it absolutely baffled me. As a Russian, I grew up with "do re mi" as the actual names of the notes so the concept of movable do was incredibly confusing and counterintuitive. Is it an American thing?

 

[Hypron]

So you didn't know about keys, at all? How did you know what notes to actually play, considering that "do-re-mi" can refer to "C-D-E", "G-A-B", "B-C#-D#", etc? Or was there no playing involved, just singing by ear? Then, sure, just being aware of intervals is enough I guess. I can't imagine anyone actually playing music without knowing about keys.

Look at my edit, apparently do-re-mi refers to something different in different countries.

 

[RoadHazard]

Look at my edit, apparently do-re-mi refers to something different in different countries.

Yeah, just saw that myself. But I don't really understand it. How do they refer to any other scales than the C major one? Or is that the only one they use? Weird.

I remember encountering this when taking theory courses and it absolutely baffled me. As a Russian, I grew up with "do re mi" as the actual names of the notes so the concept of movable do was incredibly confusing and counterintuitive. Is it an American thing?

So explain how you refer to other scales? What about singing/playing something in E major (or whatever)? Impossible? That's very confusing to me. Having "do-re-mi" refer to the intervals in whatever key you're in makes much more sense.

 

[KalBalboa]

 

[Ostinatto]

In South America we use DO RE MI FA SOL LA SI DO.

 

[dvolovets]

So explain how you refer to other scales? What about singing/playing something in E major (or whatever)? Impossible? That's very confusing to me. Having "do-re-mi" refer to the intervals in whatever key you're in makes much more sense.

By naming the actual notes, i.e., with sharps and flats?... I don't see what's so impossible about that. E major scale would be mi, fa #, sol #, la, si, do #, re #, mi...

 

[mokeyjoe]

Yeah, just saw that myself. But I don't really understand it. How do they refer to any other scales than the C major one? Or is that the only one they use? Weird.



So explain how you refer to other scales? What about singing/playing something in E major (or whatever)? Impossible? That's very confusing to me. Having "do-re-mi" refer to the intervals in whatever key you're in makes much more sense.

You basically use Do# etc I think . Although you don't sing it that way. Apparently it's useful for training absolute pitch, but I agree, moveable Do seems simpler and more useful. But fixed Do is more of a replacement for note letters than for moveable Do.

 

[RoadHazard]

By naming the actual notes, i.e., with sharps and flats?... I don't see what's so impossible about that. E major scale would be mi, fa #, sol #, la, si, do #, re #, mi...

Ah, ok, didn't know you could do sharps and flats with do-re-mi. But surely you don't sing "fa-sharp"?

You basically use Do# etc I think . Although you don't sing it that way. Apparently it's useful for training absolute pitch, but I agree, moveable Do seems simpler and more useful. But fixed Do is more of a replacement for note letters than for moveable Do.

What do you sing, then? Just "do", even though it's not really "do" anymore?

 

[dvolovets]

Ah, ok, didn't know you could do sharps and flats with do-re-mi. But surely you don't sing "fa-sharp"?

Sure I do. Why not? It's extremely difficult for me to dissociate the names of the notes as I learned them from the frequencies. I have perfect pitch and hearing someone use the movable do system is grating.

 

[mokeyjoe]

Sure I do. Why not? It's extremely difficult for me to dissociate the names of the notes as I learned them from the frequencies. I have perfect pitch and hearing someone use the movable do system is grating.

Yeah but it's useful for someone with good relative pitch. You can change the key without changing all the notes. There are arguments for both ways.

 

[dvolovets]

Yeah but it's useful for someone with good relative pitch. You can change the key without changing all the notes. There are arguments for both ways.

Oh, yeah, I'm not knocking the system... it's just that I was incredibly surprised that it existed when I first encountered it, and to me personally it's very unintuitive.

 

[RoadHazard]

Sure I do. Why not? It's extremely difficult for me to dissociate the names of the notes as I learned them from the frequencies. I have perfect pitch and hearing someone use the movable do system is grating.

Hmm, ok. But did you really not also learn C, D, E, etc? How did you refer to keys? "Let's play in Re-sharp"...?

 

[mokeyjoe]

Hmm, ok. But did you really not also learn C, D, E, etc? How did you refer to keys? "Let's play in Re-sharp"...?

I imagine that's how it works. Chords though? Fam7? Misus4? Do/So?

 

[dvolovets]

I imagine that's how it works. Chords though? Fam7? Misus4? Do/So?

Yes. The former, for example, in Russian would be фа (Fa) минорный (minor) септаккорд (7)... not any more complicated than the A B C system really.

@ RoadHazard: I learned C, D, E as well. I grew up in a Russian-speaking household in the US, so luckily I was exposed to both systems! Just not movable do.

 

[mrkgoo]

The ABC song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Yes, I only learnt this a little while ago and it blew my mind.

Also Baa Baa Black sheep is a slight variation as well.

 

[Falk]

On the topic of relative pitch vs absolute pitch, movable do is far superior.

It's like if you want to go to the pizza place a few blocks away, GPS coordinates (absolute pitch) is kind of worthless, while actual directions (relative pitch) helps a bit.

There, I said it. Come at me.

 

[Stet]

On the topic of relative pitch vs absolute pitch, movable do is far superior.

It's like if you want to go to the pizza place a few blocks away, GPS coordinates (absolute pitch) is kind of worthless, while actual directions (relative pitch) helps a bit.

There, I said it. Come at me.

That's fine, until someone who lives at a different address has to find the same pizza place.

 

[Megalosaro]

Every good boy does fine face for life