Posted by Tim Murphy on November 30, 2001 at 14:01:16:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Solfege posted by Chuck(G) on November 29, 2001 at 19:33:11:
From "Music for Sight Singing" by Robert W. Ottman: "In each major key, the tonic tone is do, followed by the syllables listed below for each scale step. The syllables mi-fa and ti-do are always half steps."
This is the reason for the movable do system; to maintain a standard relationship between the syllables (thus explaining why minor scales are sung starting with la, the 6th scale degree). Ottman also gives the following footnote: "This is known as the tonic sol-fa system. In the French solfege system, C is always do, D is always re, and so forth, regardless of key."
It seems to me (being a college freshman exposed to all of this for the first time) that the movable do system is much easier to deal with, because it's much simpler to deal with the various keys. How, for example, would you sing a B major scale in the fixed do system??? At least in movable do, the syllables are always the same.