Most countries don't use ABCDEFG for note names

[@DavidBennettPiano]

📌1:45 I had stupidly written "D diesis" rather than "Re diesis"! Shows how used to the English system I am! Thank you to the commenter who brought it to my attention. I have now blurred the mistake out using the KZbin editor tool (although it might take a while for that change to process). Sorry for any confusion caused!

[@davec373]

😂

[@oldcowbb]

D with censor on it looks vulgar

[@ostrelephant]

D diesis is just too offensive to show

[@christianduval8374]

We say dièse here.

[@anonymousblackscreen4703]

On France, sharp is dièse and flat is bémol. And the D note is Ré, featuring an accent. So for example D sharp would be "Ré dièse" and D flat would be "Ré bémol".

[@MrPsm84]

One day, I saw an american banjoist (Alison Brown) animating a masterclass in France. When she said "We 'll play it in C", everyone tried to play it in Si !🤣

[@tinker2217]

😂😂

[@aquabot]

Excellent! En meme temps, ça parait logique.🤣

[@ShaharHarshuv]

Yeah that's really confusing that it sounds the same 😅

[@marcd1367]

Trop drôle !

[@lexruptor]

If I were her I'd be pissed at those trolls. Clearly this wasn't in any latin-based system, like the US, Canada, The UK, Europe, etc.

[@gaato.]

In Japan, we actually use Solfège (ドレミ) commonly while having own note names (イロハ). Also instrumentalists here often use ABC, but they pronounce it like Dutch.

[@kanamepac]

First time I heard "Ro tanchou" I was very shocked 😂 I thought what the key is this !? and long time after that moment, I have learned about Japanese notation system www

[@lumarbo9787]

In addition, in Japan, actually use Solfege.(I can't type accented "e") But, in Japan we call "D flat" "レのフラット"(Flat of Re). We use mixed system of ABC system and Solfege system.

[@einsam_aber_frei]

Same in China as well, and the chinese numbered system 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 is sung as do re mi fa so la ti. ABCDEFG is used when keys or a specific note is talked about, but movable solfége is used for singing and for describing notes in a melody.

[@kelvinwang5337]

That's the same in China, therefore, these two different systems are so confusion to me as an aged piano learner@@lumarbo9787

[@xmaverickhunterkx]

This is the same mostly everywhere other than English. Even if you write "D", which is used for chords for instance, you'll call it "Re". This is not unique to Japan. ​@@lumarbo9787

[@javierbg1995]

As a Spanish bassist/guitarist, the way I usually go about it is: I always write down ABCDEFG but read Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si. Kinda like seeing the symbol 3 and reading the word "three", nothing too weird. I would write down Dbm and read it as "re bemol menor" when talking to other musicians. I was never exposed to the letters system at school, so it was a bit weird at the beginning to start at La (A) instead of Do (C), but you get used to it. I initially relied on the mnemonics A = LA (in Spanish every vowel has only one pronunciation, in this case /a/, the "open front unrounded vowel") and F = Fa (same initial letter).

[@PaulTheEldritchCat]

Exactly what I wanted to say. I'm French and learned solfège as a kid (although in French "solfège" means musical education more than the name of the system) and I learned the ABCDEFG notation when looking for sheet music for the piano. I found that letters are just a quicker way to write down chords, but as you said, in my head it makes no difference. I write C# and my head goes "do dièse".

[@MinecraftSebsPro]

I am mexican and i do exactly the same, i write them with the letters but call them with their names (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si)

[@Asa-yl5bk]

I'm also guitarist/bassist spanish and this is what exactly happen to me. In addition, when I teach my students how to use this "english-speaker" system, we use to use the Do-Re-Mi system to reference notes and the A-B-C system to reference chords and key.

[@The_IRL_Bard]

As a Spanish baroque guitarist, I gotta use solfeo cus we got a whole different system for chords that uses letter (for example in baroque tabs a B chord would be a Do major chord and a D chord would be a La minor. And different letters can be the same chord but change mode, and there's even a + chord which is a La neutral chord, there's a whole treaty about it "Laberinto de Acordes - gaspar Sanz")

[@marcmartinez9287]

​@@The_IRL_Bardjoder thats confusing..

[@kierandansey7293]

In the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Sidon is named for the notes Si and Do, his theme is built around a motif using Si and Do. It is the same for Mipha (Mi and Fa) and King Dorephan (Do - Re - Fa)

[@DiegoVizia]

Wow! Didn't know that! 😲

[@Yoshnis-TW]

nintendo never fails to put secrets in games...

[@uganda_mn397]

How do you come about such information?

[@ElJosher]

🤯

[@kaan8964]

​@@uganda_mn397probably using their brains

[@ab12kim]

South Korean here. We use do re mi for single notes. C D E for scales and chords. We also use 다 라 마(Korean alphabet equivalent of C D E) for scales and chords. For traditional instruments, we use 仲 林 無(중 임 무)

[@Han-b5o3p]

도레미는 계이름이고 다라마는 음이름 아님?

[@Han-b5o3p]

영국처럼

[@몽롱]

다라마는 사실상 ㅎ..

[@Han-b5o3p]

@@몽롱 사실상 무요 학교서 잘만 쓰는디 가장조 나단조

[@몽롱]

@@Han-b5o3p 거기는 잘 쓰는군요, 저희는 거의 쓰지 않아서...

[@CaioMiranda88]

In Brazil, we name the notes "Dó, Ré, Mi...", but we are very used to the alphabetical system, 'cause chord books (very commom here since the 90's) are written with this system, specially guitar chord books.

[@wesleybecker834]

Yep. It's funny though that we will see a "C" and pronounce it "Dó", or see a "A" and pronounce it "Lá", and so forth.

[@yoremusic6920]

Yeah... When David says: "In this part, there's a C chord", I always think it's a B. Hahaha

[@mfC0RD]

Also, I don't know if that's the standard here in Brazil, but when learning solfège, I was taught to use the movable do system using "ti" instead of "si" for the major 7th to keep the sharps consistent (initial + "i"), and avoid confusion between "sil" vs. "si" or "se" vs. "sel".

[@martinschulz1778]

same in Russian

[@isal_L]

Sim, aprendi assim tbm kkkkkk mas não toco violão

[@someguyontheinternet31]

As an Italian, I actually thought that Solfège was the only way to name notes 🤣

[@ssneg]

As a Soviet boy I didn't know about abcd till late nineties

[@balinthollos6933]

Hungary also uses movable Do as its fundamental system for music education, but mixed with the German H system. Basically, children first learn solfege with moveable Do via mainly folksongs (Hungarian music education is mainly based in singing and folk music), and then they apply this system to the so-called absolute system, which really just means the German H notes and specific pitches and keys and so on. But even in later stages moveable Do is an important element for Hungarians in music to determine relative relations between pitches, especially when sung.

[@menoflowicz]

Same in Poland!

[@forzer45]

Basically the same in Finland too😊

[@michaellasfetto5810]

Thank goodness for Zoltan Kodaly!

[@bobjeaniejoey]

WOW! I got schooled watching this video. For most of my 65 years I've had a U.S.-centered, very basic understanding of Movable Do Solfege, but never actually ever used it in my musical endeavors. I had no idea that the majority of the world uses Fixed Do Solfege. I've heard of it but had no understanding of its use. Nor did I have any idea as to the origin of the Solfege system itself! I have a rudimentary understanding of the German H system, but I'll bet that I'm going to be further schooled by watching the linked video that promises to continue describing the German H system. Here I go!!! WOW again! 😊😊👍👍

[@christianduval8374]

We don't say "so" we say "soL"

[@Fenix_the_12]

[sol'] to be exact

[@sp00ky_guy]

He is saying that, he just vocalises /l/ in syllable coda due to his accent, I do the same, and so do most English speakers from South East England. Listen to him say ⟨syllable⟩ or ⟨scale⟩ or anythinɡ that ends in the /l/ sound

[@sp00ky_guy]

I listened a bit further on, and you're right, he does start saying 'so' even though he starts out saying 'sol', and then goes back to it later on; apologies

[@simonsanchezkumrich8489]

In One steven universe song, steven he says so and ti instead of sol and si lmao

[@kraken7177]

@@simonsanchezkumrich8489in english speaking countries si is usually replaced with ti

[@ND62511]

I’ve been studying Japanese for over a year, and they use solfège. It makes sense considering the solfège’s pronunciation lines up better with their alphabet than the western letters.

[@rueburch2856]

Yeah, I kind of wonder why it was marked as different, since everyone I know (my students, my family members) use solfege. My wife just sang the whole Do Re Mi in Japanese as soon as she heard the song in the video.

[@ognianeeh5684]

In Japan there are two notes, DoReMi is more common but in traditional Japan HaNiHoHeToIRo is used. IRoHa is an old Japanese letter number.

[@Aikinai]

I’ve only ever seen iroha nomenclature used for official names of classical pieces in Japan, not actual communication.

[@Cherodar]

@@AikinaiYou can see it being used in places like this Wikipedia article (ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%A4%E9%9F%BF%E6%9B%B2%E7%AC%AC3%E7%95%AA_(%E3%83%99%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A7%E3%83%B3), where it's also used to describe keys that are modulated to within the piece. It's quite rare for it to be used for single notes, but for keys in classical contexts it's not weird!

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

The western letters? You mean the Latin Alphabet? Pretty sure /a:/ /be:/ /ke:/ /de:/ /e:/ /ef/ /ge:/ actually presents less problems than /do/ /re/ /mi/ */fa/* */sol/* */la/* */si/* given that Japanese only works with specific syllables, doesn't have an L sound, has a sort of ph sound only before u (which can be ephentetically added, so the final f of ef can be approximated but not the initial f of fa), and s turns to sh before i meaning si doesn't work

[@RifqiMainGitar]

0:59 I'm Indonesian and I must say we kinda use a mix of both solfège and the A to G alphabet system. When we're talking about individual notes we use the solfège but when we're talking about chords we use yhe alphabet system. For example we would say something like "the C major chord consists of do, mi, and sol notes".

[@Dersephh]

And i dont think he mentioned this in the video, but we also use "1-7" (1=Do - 7= si) label in the movable do system. So in the key of F, "4" would be the the A#. I think it is the same as the roman numerals (I-VII) but its used mostly in choir for the vocalist. Im not sure if thats how it is everywhere else around the world but its worth mentioning right? :P

[@ShinwaneKido]

Indonesian here (2) Personally I use ABCDEFG for chords, but use Solfège for melodies

[@kolangkaling3338]

Ada Indonesia coy

[@Dersephh]

@@kolangkaling3338 Indonesia mentioned 🤯🤯🥶🥵🥵🥵🥶💯💯🗣️🎤🔥🔥🔥 /j

[@SewolHoONCE]

While in Indonesia (1986-1991) Universitas HKBP Nommensen SUMUT, I used a score written in numbers for the steps of the scale. I found this confusing trying to count beats and sing steps of the scale using the same set of symbols!

[@mateusbez2669]

As many noticed - here in Brazil we’ll always SAY the solfège names, but write in the A-G. They’re interchangeable to most musicians. The difference is only in non musicians, as some will not know the letters. But you will usually learn this at your first month learning any instrument

[@NomeDeArte]

13:20 That's true. If I need to show and write down a quick chord progression to my band, I probably write "G D em C" but when I talk I'd say "sol, re, mi menor y do" and everyone understand me, because we use both system (without much tought on it, is the same but different).

[@brettdavid]

Wow - that was one of the most informative musical explanations I have ever heard (over 50 years) - always used Do Re Mi system for teaching children the fundamentals of intervals and how to sing - the explanations Do re Mi origins and current use is immeasurably helpful - "thank you David"

[@pontiuspilates]

Most countries actually use mixed systems. Sometimes it depends on the instrument, as some instruments have their own rules and traditions.

[@FatBoy42069]

@@marlonnegrao3521it’s probably because of us Americans. You guys got a weird amount of us after the civil war.

[@ericktellez7632]

@@FatBoy42069it is because of Americans but not because of migration is because of jazz becoming popular in the 40s, the standards and the fake books were all written using CDE system the musicians of the rest of the world simply had to learn both systems to play the music.

[@Dyllon2012]

If you’re notating chords, the English system only uses one 2 letters for pitch which is handy for rapid chord progressions.

[@contafamilia2092]

I write solfège as letters and read them in solfège

[@hazukilazy]

Thank you for an interesting video as always😊 I was born, raised and live in Japan. People usually use solfége (A is Si). Almost every Japanese can sing translated “Do-Re-Mi”. However, you use Japanese in a key of classical musical (example: ト長調(toh-chow-chow) means G major key). Guitar chords are written in ABC systems. Non-western countries may often use mixed systems. (Sorry if my English is broken)

[@aikifab]

You should have mentioned the etymology of 'bemolle' word. It means B mol, meaning B flat. As you mentionned, the 7th degree was sometimes raised (B dur) or lowered (B moll). Hence the global name of the 'flat' alteration became the same of the most commonly altered note, B moll=>bemolle

[@emilelesaffre]

He did talk about it in another video.

[@framegrace1]

In spanish, sharp can also be called "becuadro" (B square) The old symbol for B dur was a squared b, which was replaced by a # later.

[@aikifab]

@@framegrace1 funny, in french bécarre stand for 'natural'.

[@katrinabryce]

@@aikifab Could that be due to a sharpened German B (English B♭)? Otherwise known as H in German or B in English?

[@alonsoinfantesarce1445]

​@@framegrace1I'm sure that the term for Sharp notes is "sostenido". "Becuadro" refers to the symbol that cancels out the effect of a Sharp (#) or flat (b).

[@zevelgamer.]

Native Hebrew speaker here: we use the solfege system. We call flat bemol and for sharp diaez. Keep uploading please ❤

[@pez1870]

נראלי יותר מתאים לכתוב di'ez ולא diaez

[@korelore8841]

Is like a combination of italian/spanish/english way. Pretty cool!

[@zevelgamer.]

Glad to help you. Me personally, I hate the Hebrew system, I'm more used to the American system but I gotta know both.@@korelore8841

[@barakingplayz5581]

Yeah, also, I was only introduced to the the ABC system when trying to learn jazz as they name the chords using this way...

[@zevelgamer.]

@@barakingplayz5581 למזלי זה הדבר הראשון שלמדתי. יש הרבה דברים מוזרים בעברית.

[@michaeltravelingtheworld4688]

I am from a family of Russian speaking immigrants in the US and I took piano lessons where I was taught the solfège system. I then came to school and learned about the letters and was like ok fine. But when moveable do was introduced it took me a year to figure out what was happening and now I can’t do sight reading on solfège and just have to sing random syllables because D will always be re and G will always be so in by brain

[@ShaharHarshuv]

I was also raised with the fixed solfege names, but as I learned to do solfege I retrained my brain to use solfege only for moveable-Do. Since I moved to the US, I don't have any issues with communicating to other musicians since I'm going to have to use the letter system naming anyway. The other option is actually sing numbers "one two three" but that's more awkward to sing so I prefer the moveable-do.

[@tablethome3653]

Also music theory lessons in Russia are called Solfegio

[@michaeltravelingtheworld4688]

@@tablethome3653 true

[@dav77h]

Sol

[@Ерь-е6е]

I thought Solfège is one and only for every single country, it felt like something as essential as Arabic numbers for me

[@alfrredd]

Sadly no, the English always have to have a different system for everything.

[@stawkey9186]

​@@alfrreddIn Poland we learn both in school but I think that most musicians use ahcdefg system. Tbh I always thought that only kids in school use do re mi...

[@ErikratKhandnalie]

I feel the same regarding ABCDEFG. When I took music theory in school, I was taught Movable Do.

[@sallomon2357]

​@@stawkey9186 wait, really? I had never heard of the alphabetical system before engaging with foreign media at a certain age, at school I learned solely the other system. Unless you mean like specifically music schools, then I can understand that.

[@thedrunkenrebel]

imagine your shock when you'll realize what you call arabic numerals aren't the only ones used. Egyptians have their own numbers, africans locally do, asian nomads, chinese, indians have 2 types, polynesians, even arabs have different arab numerals, it's a super clusterfück all around the world

[@mikem922]

Thank you. I was immediately wondering about the Sound of Music when I started watching. You make musical theory so relatable and interesting.

[@djoek]

Let me share my favorite related Simpsons joke: Homer’s barbershop quartet is named “The Be Sharps”. B sharp is C, or Do(h) which is Homer’s catchphrase.

[@itamartsafrirornstein6971]

In the Do-Re-Mi song they do sing it correctly in the musical but in the film it's actually in B-flat major making everything a tone lower

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Interesting! I guess the original key was a little too high for Julie Andrews.

[@jack002tuber]

That would make it movable Do I would think

[@robinbaylor2672]

That’s going to make it hard to teach my friend to play an instrument. I was going to tell her to play along with the Sound of Music

[@jack002tuber]

@@robinbaylor2672 Have them tune the guitar down a 1/2 step

[@vspatmx7458]

In north India They use Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa^ The system is very scientific And also handles sharps and flats As well as intervals

[@SpadajSpadaj]

In Poland we typically learn solfege names in primary school but indeed C-H system is used by pretty much everyone involved in music somehow. But. We don't say Polish equivalent of "c sharp" or "c flat" as a note name and a modifier word. We add a suffix to the note name itself. So C sharp in Polish is "Cis". And G flat is "Ges". It goes even further and if you have double sharp or double flat notes they are - for example "Cisis" and "Ceses" respectively (although those names are very very rarely used). To make things more complicated B is also used as H-flat (which would normally be called "hes"). And to add to confusion, many self-taught musicians (especially internet-learning guitarists) learn from English-named materials and use C-B system which can leat to some misunderstandings when you're getting a chord sheet from someone and you're not sure what B is used. Obviously if there is also H in the chart, it's obvious that B is H-flat but if you just have B's all over the page you must guess (it's of course easier if the used scale suggests one or the other). And we use "dur" and "moll" for modes and chords (means major and minor respectively). And while I could occasionally call a particular sound with solfege name, I've never heard someone naming chord or a scale "Re-moll". It's always "d-moll".

[@TheAngelsHaveThePhoneBox]

Same here in Czechia. But I have to say the H makes no sense. I kinda wish we used the more logical English ABCDEFG system but with our naming convention for the semi-tones (so you'd have Bis and Bes instead of His and B). I think that would be the best of both worlds and it would make chord sheets internationally unambiguous. Most musicians are fluent in both systems anyway because of the amount of anglophone materials you can find on the internet and elsewhere. Even if you're not self-thought, if you look up chords for a song (if it's not a Czech song of course) chances are you'll find it on an English website with English naming convention. And I've not seen the H system in jazz for example, all the fake books people use are English originals. Oh, and we do use Solfège when teaching singing as well and it's the "movable Do" but with a "Si", interestingly. No idea what the semi-tones are called, never got so far :)

[@SpadajSpadaj]

@@TheAngelsHaveThePhoneBox Right. Of course all jazz and blues prints are typically English-based so you have B in relatively widespread use as well.

[@RoninvdW]

In Dutch we do the same for flats and sharps "-is & -es" so we have a sort of hybrid version. I love it

[@danielhower5950]

Very well explained. That's exactly like in Germany.

[@FatBoy42069]

@@TheAngelsHaveThePhoneBoxwe’d call the semi tones like Asus or Dsus# (# means sharp) I’ve seen em written as like As or Ds#, but I suspect this is for quicker reading as I’ve only seen it in banjo tabs for the chord charting.

[@thegothaunt]

Thank you for expanding on this topic!!! In music school we were briefly told about the difference between fixed and movable do....but that was it. This video filled in so many gaps. This would be such a fun college course.

[@RafaelOrsi]

Here in Brazil my teachers told me to use letters to name the chords, and the solfege names to talk about the notes alone. The chord of C is made with Do, Mi and Sol. And we read the letters with solfege names as well but write with letters. C chord is read Do chord. In that way we can talk about chords and notes at the same time, without keep using the word "chord" as we speak. That was 20 and so years ago.

[@zad9920]

I studied music in Germany and although we generally use the German H system, we also used solfège especially in ear training classes. It also depended on the teacher. One of them taught us movable Do while the other used fixed Do which was a bit confusing for me after switching.

[@thenapalm06]

Until you explained "Ti", I was thinking through the entire video: "wow, I grew up thinking of Do as the root note of a scale, and Ti as the 7th. Thinking of Re as always D is blowing my mind." And then you covered it. Great video as always.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

🙂🙂🙂🙂

[@markshveima]

Me too!!

[@fenhen]

I very slowly realised this fact after a foreigner asked me which note Do was for the third time…

[@catocall7323]

Do Re Mi are the notes themselves, I II III are the scale degrees where I learned.

[@adminguy]

In Hong Kong, a former UK colony and an oriental state, kids are taught that CDEFGAB are "note name" (the name of the note) and DoReMi are "sung name" (the name to be sung) and movable. We regard a piece is in C Major, and that is a G Seventh chord, meanwhile we warm up by singing "Do - Mi - So - Mi - Do". In addition, we always pronounce DoReMi with pitch (mostly in C Key).

[@karlderdelinckx]

That movable do system makes actually more sense then the fixed do system we’re using now.

[@richardgratton7557]

My Dad and I used to play guitar a lot together when I was young. We are in Québec (which is French-speaking) but we are bilingual (English-speaking as well). My Dad would tell me when to change chords when I was still learning. But we speak, we often change from one language to the other, which ever is easiest and quickest to say. Sometimes I would confuse « C » with « Si ». 😂 Funnily enough, when speaking English we use the letters A,B,C etc…. And in French, we use the words Do, Re, Mi, etc…without even thinking about it. Thanks for including us in red in your musical world map! 😊❤👍 Love your channel, great work you do.🥰

[@tamastibor2723]

We in hungary use both systems as an interlocking system but in the solfége in a different way and also we raise and lower in a different way. The solfége scale is do ré mi fá szó lá ti do, but these can move depending on which key you ar in. Also in the abc system the sharps are áisz, hisz, cisz, eisz, fisz, gisz, áisz and the flats are ász, bé, cesz, desz, esz, fesz, gesz, ász. Here we also use the movable do system.

[@pjalexandra]

The Solfege + shape notes is how many of my ancestors learned to sing a cappella harmonies in North American religious communities. I'm not familiar with shape notes. But studying Indian classical music, where the scale is very similar to the Moveable Do system (Sa Re Ga etc), did great things for my ear, interval training, and composition skills.

[@alamcho]

For us people who grew up with Solfege system, it a similar case to 24 hours clocks (ironically, another system used by the entire world except for the USA). In 24h system, we see "15:00" but we automatically say "three". Same for ABCDEFG, we see "C" but automatically say "Do". Translation is instant and automatic, so no problem for us!

[@benjaminprietop]

While in the European Spanish version of "The Sound of Music" they adapted the songs, in the Latin Spanish version they just left the songs as they were. Since I grew up in Latin America, this is my first time hearing the translated version of "Do-Re-Mi", and it does makes a lot of sense.

[@Aninten]

"The Sound of Music" es Sonrisas y Lágrimas?

[@benjaminprietop]

@@Aninten it is in European Spanish, but in Latin America they named it "La Novicia Rebelde"

[@PinkyH-AN-]

"they just left the songs as they were" No, not in all L.A. I'm from Argentina and I remember a translated version, but is not the Spanish one: Do, un Don, un gran señor/ Re, un rey encantador/ Mí, su amor es para mí/ Fa, que fácil recordar/ Sol, que brilla y da calor/ La, si cantas la la la/ Si, es una afirmación/ Y volvamos con el Do/

[@Aninten]

@@PinkyH-AN- yo soy de España y no sabía que allí era distinto, pensaba que sería una traducción literal de las suyas. Me acabo de enterar de que Sonrisas y Lágrimas se llama en inglés The Sound of Music y en español latino La Novicia Rebelde.

[@benjaminprietop]

@@PinkyH-AN- no conocía esa versión, gracias

[@leonardogabrieltrevinoloba2377]

In Latin America we in fact use the "Do Re Mi Fa Sol" system but in writing it is so much easier the american code "A B C D..."

[@erickleonardo46]

A mi me confunde porque se me olvide que A es La

[@Dersephh]

Thank you! Ive been veeeery confused about the usage of the do system. At least from my experience in Indonesia, the usage of solfege (which is labeled as "1-7" for whatever reason) and ABCDEFG are mixed. It was rather difficult to understand that i use the movable do system and not the fixed do but at least i figured it out at the end. This video helped me so much on understanding all of it. Most of the questions i had were all answered in this video :)

[@vinylhead9938]

When I was in school in the mid 80s, our music teacher would use yet another notation system called "Solmization", created by hungarian musician Zoltan Kodàly. The idea was that in addition to each note having its specific name (Jo-Le-Mi-Na-So-Ra-Di), each note was assigned a specific color (matching the rainbow colors), and a hand gesture. So when we sang in class, we also had to SHOW the note we were singing with our hand. Quite unusual and effective way I must say. Weirdly enough it didn't catch on.

[@Ampersand100]

Those hand gestures are mentioned briefly in the Steven Spielberg movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

[@aquabot]

David, I like yopur channel a lot, it's always very information and accessible. And you keep the ad thing short, which is always a good thing. Keep up the good work, man. I'm french, so I learnt the solfege system, but since most of my musical theory learning has come from reading american guitar magazines and, nowadays, from english or american youtube channels like yours, I always use the abc system write ideas but still pronounce the french name of the notes.

[@mcwolfbeast]

The Netherlands uses Solfège as well (as an absolute, not movable Do) with "Ti", and it's the primary way music is taught in primary schools, with "kruis" and "mol" for sharp and flat, respectively. It's only if you continue music education (secondary school/college) or take interest in sheet music, that the ABCDEFG takes priority. But initial exposure for kids is always Solfège.

[@CouldBeMathijs]

In België heb ik buiten popmuzikanten/mensen die muziek zelf geleerd hebben, nog nooit iemand A-G weten gebruiken, ze kwamen zelfs niet aan bod tot mijn 4de jaar notenleer, en dan ook maar van 'ow ja en dat bestaat dus ook nog, nu verder je leeslessen studeren'.

[@jemappellemerci]

Toen ik 9 was had ik het gewoon met het ABC systeem geleerd, en later op de middelbare school ook. Enige uitzondering was toen ik in een kerk koor zat haha maar dat is logisch nu

[@crazyfrytka]

Well, in Poland we sure have "Do, Re, Mi...", but along sinde we have... "C, D, E, F, G, A, H, C". Now I know some countries have it in order from A to H and my mind is blown. WTF...?

[@PuppetMasterIX]

An additional plus to changing "si" to "ti": it avoids the potential headache of the note being confused with C in the letter system.

[@wizardzombie1545]

I learned this but in the opposite way, I'm a spanish speaker and know the sharps and flats like "sostenido" and "bemol", and when I was reading a music book in english, I noticed that in english it's different

[@Tohavina]

In our country "Madagascar" movable Do is reffered as " Solfa" with it's own notation. And we use it mainly to teach song to choir. And sheet music is mostly refered as "Solfège". Butmusician here mostly use the solfège in the language to communicate, even we see the chord Amajor we always say " La majeur". It's mostly french word, unfortunately i don't know if we have our own malagasy system.

[@charlesnazare7358]

David, your depth of knowledge of music theory and your concise explanations are outstanding! Thank you for this!

[@RxmilPlayzGamez]

The American : a b c d e f g a b c The German: a b c d e f g a h c The Italian: do re mi fa sol la ti

[@bodolawale5448]

Awesome video man.... Really informative. As someone that grew up with movable do system in Nigeria, it gets really confusing learning music from different parts of the world but it's also beautiful to see how we all say the same thing in different ways. ❤

[@gianni1646]

In my experience here in the US, I’ve been taught the musical notes as A thru G and the “Do Re Mi…” as sounds for singing or expressing a note audibly. Also I’ve not seen or heard “Si” in the scale. It was (and still is) “Ti”, pronounced: tea. Great history lesson David! Gianni❤

[@FatBoy42069]

Did you also think they were just a vocal warm up in grade school?

[@gianni1646]

@@FatBoy42069 That too! ✌🏼

[@annoynymouse1146]

In Latin America we now use the ABCDEFG system, and we call it "el cifrado anglosajón" (the anglo-saxon cypher) but we use it exclusively for chords. When reading it out loud we translate it into solfege. For example we write an "A" and we read it as "La mayor".

[@FatBoy42069]

It’s weird cause I’m American and I was looking at buying a bajo sexto and was completely put off when I saw the tuning was in do re me and went “the singing warm up the hell?”

[@catocall7323]

I don't know what Latin American country you are from, but where I am from we use Do Re Mi.

[@XXIII_89]

Damn i had no idea they changed the wordplay for that song depending on the language!! That would be an excellent deep dive to explore, in itself!!!

[@horstborscht7401]

At jam sessions, I often play with musicians from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia who sometimes use the solfege system - that‘s a good way to master both systems. I’ve noticed that classicaly trained musicians here in Germany mostly use the central European H, but self-taught musicians (who often learned their trade by using chord books from popular music) prefer the Anglo-American B. The most confusing note is B flat, which can get up to 5 different names - even within my own band we always have to clarify which one we mean.

[@dustybuffalo9973]

Imagine my surprise the first time I sat in with an Argentine band. I had never heard of solfège before, fortunately logic and Julie Andrews got me through it.

[@tinker2217]

😂❤

[@markshveima]

This is so fascinating! And explained well! Thank You.

[@NomeDeArte]

And most of the countries messure things with science, not medieval body parts.

[@xenym]

We still have those body parts.

[@NomeDeArte]

@@xenym we too, you just miss the science ;)

[@KJJ3DS]

Why do you bring units of measurement into this?

[@thethrashyone]

@@NomeDeArte Except a house built off of those "medieval body parts" is just as sturdy as a house built on metric. Just because your brain can only comprehend units of 10 doesn't mean that every other system doesn't work. ;)

[@thethrashyone]

@@KJJ3DS The metric system is pretty much the only thing non-Americans have that they can flex on America with. Just let them have it. XD

[@jonathanwingmusic]

I take voice lessons here in the US, and I enjoy using movable Do when practicing relative intervals. "Si" in that system is the #5 chromatic scale degree, so I was a bit confused learning that in the rest of the world "Si" is actually the major 7th degree! Great video as always.

[@cmyk8964]

In Japanese, we use: • A-G for chords • solfège (with “si”) for note names, in both “fixed do” and “movable do” systems and • katakana (i ro ha ni ho he to = A~G, with prefixes ei- = sharp, hen- = flat) for key signature. So, in ❶ the key of _“hen-ro”_ (flat-B) major, ❷ “fixed” si-flat re fa equals ❸ “movable” do mi so, because ❹ it’s the-you know this-B♭M chord.

[@Phobero]

Yeah! A video on actual notes! Thank you 😁

[@roberternest7289]

It's not really true. Here in Czechia, yes, we have notes C D E F G A H C (We start from C - Do), but in choirs and acapella music, we use Solfege, in instrument we use a mix of solfege and letters (though mainly letters)

[@Frahamen]

"In English and in Dutch" that's not quite true. It should be "In English and in the Netherlands". Because in Dutch speaking Belgium, we do use solfège (though we do use "kruis", literally "cross" for sharp)

[@Pantodreamers]

So interesting and informative, David, as always.

[@TheGTRacer97]

Finland is a bit of a mess in this sense. Mainly, we use the "German H" system of AHCDEFG, but some people use ABCDEFG instead. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the note B-flat, as it is marked as Bb in one, and B in the other, so you don't really know if they're talking about an H or a B-flat because they might be using the different base system. I try to say H and Bb to avoid confusion. And we also have the "Movable Do" system, like the English speakers.

[@Munchkin.Of.Pern09]

This is kind of interesting to me, because the Do Re Mi system can be used for any scale without changing what you say, but if you use ABC style note names then you have to change what you say for each numbered note in the scale for every scale you do, including adding in the sharps and flats.

[@dhpbear2]

Interesting, David. I always thought that Solfège was simply a way to name the notes in the major scale, *regardless* of key. Sort of a verbal Nashville Numbering System. Update: Ah, I was describing *Movable Do* !

[@CVerse]

I’m a Spanish church musician, this is all too familiar as the songbook we use, Flor y Canto, prints the songs in both English and Solfège. I can read both but my dad and others mostly use Solfège and it’s all in fixed Do.

[@smallhumble]

In Germany sometimes the movable Do is used, too. The vowels are not by accident on their positions. The „o“ marks strong position like the root and the fifth, the „i“ highlights the halftone steps. According to this there are hand signals, which emphasise the function of the vowels, a fist for the Do, a „wall“ for the Sol, for example. So I think, the fixed Do does not illustrate the basic concept of Solfegio. The name of a note is not important, but its function in a scale.

[@rafaelryan2]

in Brazil we use: do re mi fa sol la si (Until this year I didn't know it was different in other countries)

[@marije179]

In Flanders, Belgium we use do re mi fa sol la si. "kruis" means sharp (it literally means cross but I don't think that's where the word comes from lol) and "mol" or "bemol" means flat. Minor becomes "klein" (meaning small) and major becomes "groot" meaning big. (Example: E flat major would be mi mol groot). Especially the last part I find very interesting, that minor keys somehow sound smaller or something. Unfortunately The Netherlands, a neighboring country that speaks the same language as us, uses another system. They make more music books so we can't use them to teach our kids music,because what they call fis we call fa kruis. It kinda sucks but oh well

[@bytemark6508]

I am groot!

[@wiffy1346]

I'm a Japanese who learnt music from both American textbooks and teachers (in school), and also Japanese teachers and orchestra obvious difference was that the Americans used the ABC and Japanese used do re mi, but the weird thing was that American also used the "moving do re mi" (i know this isn't the technical term, but I'm referring to the system where for example Fa in B flat major presents E flat and Ti in A major represents G sharp, and so on), and as i advanced i was taught to use German ABC from Japanese teachers also we Japanese sometimes use "i ro ha ni ho he to" (each representing A B C D E F G) to refer to the scale, so like "To major" is equivalent to G major

[@podemosurss8316]

For those wondering what the Spanish lyrics of the Do-Re-Mi song translate to: Don [Sir] is a honorary word for men, Res [beast], a wild animal, Mi [mine] denotes posesion, Far is the English word for lejos, Sol [Sun] is an ardent sphere, La [Female The*] precedes the noun, Sí [Yes] is asention, And here comes again the Do. *In Spanish (unlike in English) there are two different articles, one male (el), and another female (la).

[@juanalejandrosegura5857]

Esa traducción es otra de las aberraciones de traducciones españolas... aguja dinámica! "Far es la palabra inglesa para lejos" no pueden ni mantener la coherencia!!! DOOnde empieza la lección REEpitiendo la canción MIIra siempre la intención. FAAcil es poder cantar SOOL el que nos da calor LAA que le sigue a sol SII es lo contrario a no Y volvamos siempre al Do o o o

[@ChocopandaAvngr]

there are 4 articles in spanish

[@sara.reyyyy]

​@@juanalejandrosegura5857uff la versión castellana es mejor que la que has escrito

[@FDALl-ms5kg]

​@@juanalejandrosegura5857y bueno dime tu como traduces eso reteniendo el significado dentro de lo que cabe es una buena traducción, especialmente comparado a al aguja dinámica...

[@juanalejandrosegura5857]

@@FDALl-ms5kg "Far es la palabra inglesa para lejos"? En serio? => "Fa cil es poder cantar,,," DOminemos nuestra voz REpitiendo sin cesar MI lección, si entienden ya, FAcil es poder cantar SOLtaremos a volar LA paloma de la voz SI sabemos bien solfear volveremos siempre al DO.

[@aubietigerton1807]

The comments from musicians around the world are enlightening. As an American I had no idea about the origins of the do re mi scale but just assumed ABCDEFG was universal. And now to find out that most of the world is using do re mi is mind blowing. Yes, I'm not classically trained, just a self taught mutt but one who knows all the modes and scales, relative scales etc.

[@alsatusmd1A13]

Arabic speaking countries have their own native solfège system, مفصّلات ("Detailed Pearls") (dāl, rā', mīm, fā', ṣād, lām, tā'). The corresponding Hebrew letters are named after words which start with them because the original Canaanite script used Egyptian hieroglyphs for the initial consonants of Canaanite words.

[@zevelgamer.]

So aleph bet gimel daled?

[@johns950]

Did not know this. I was unaware, I was unaware! Cheers, Dave.

[@baconlabs]

This revelation was So sharp, it left Mi flat

[@auldthymer]

Years ago there was a sing-along event with the Sound of Music. Many people came in costume. My favorite was this lanky guy dressed all in yellow; he was Ray, a drop of golden sun.

[@kennethbropson8019]

Fascinating! I don't know how you keep coming up with new topics. Great channel!

[@Astukart]

In the Netherlands we actually use a weird hybrid version. The white keys are called ABCDEFG, but the sharps and the flats are called kruizen and mollen (crosses and moles). For each sharpened or flatted note, we would have a suffix: 'is' for sharps and 'es' for flats. So a C# would be called a Cis, and a Bb would be called a Bes.

[@WillyLonka]

I read about your hybrid system and I think that's super logical and clear to understand. I wish in Poland german "H" system could be replaced on yours :)

[@RoninvdW]

I'm proud of our system, it is the most logical and efficient one around. One doesn't need to say "sharp" or "bemolle" and we dontt have AHCD. And we can still use movable do. It makes me wonder what names fixed-do countries for interval training. Maybe numbers... some people here do that

[@skjekken]

We do the same in Norway, adding the suffix "is" and "es". I think it's pretty neat. We have traditionally used the German H and B as shorthand for Bb when speaking. So if someone said "B minor" there's a fair chance they're referring to Bb minor.

[@TYsdrawkcaB]

we do the same in australia when we sing in letter names, and sometimes we sing in solfa

[@Sonderborg75]

⁠@@skjekkenStrangely enough (no, not really…😂) it’s the exact same in Denmark. 😊 CDEFGAH/B, dur og mol, cis/ces.

I speak spanish and i actually used to think that everyone says "Do re mi fa sol la si"

[@KrisHeroWA]

In India 🇮🇳, its Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni. This is the case in most South Asian Countries. We also have 5 minor chords with different sounds like Ri Gha Maa Da Ne. These are root in our cultural and Classical music as well as Modern Music ❤

[@ivanfavarin6044]

When I was studying piano in Italy, over 4 decades ago, I was trained to read music using the Solfege (DoReMi etc). When doing my “solfeggio cantato” exercise (singing a passage in solfege), I wouldn’t use moveable Do but only fixed do. For the altered pitches (chromatic) I would sing just the name of the correspondent note without alterations (a G Flat would be sung “Sol!” and not “Sol bemolle!”, however still in the correct pitch of G Flat). My teachers made me aware that in German-speaking countries H was still in use especially for piano and organ. And introduced me to the ABCDEFG Anglo-Saxon system. Final remark: all teachers then told me that in France it was still common to hear someone call Ut the Do or C. Indeed I remember a French conductor shouting “Ut! ut!” During rehearsals (pronounced Üt).

[@SirXin]

In Poland "German H" is commonly used, but children are taught Solfege at the beginning (like preschool or first few classes). I believe it's fixed Do solfege, but I'm not really sure if it's really fixed or just byproduct of being used for completely basic stuff :)

[@Draber2b]

I have been told the Do is the exact same thing as C. And it makes sense that Poland uses the fixed solfége as, Poland got it from Italy. The German system simply dominated over the Italian one. Still some few polish musical pieces are written using fixed Do.

[@LandsOfDespair]

Thanks, interesting facts :) Although, I am from Europe, when I decided to learn music theory (not for super professional use), I went straight to ABCDEFG system. 1) I already know these letters and their order. 2) There is 0 sence to learn DoReMi and then anyway also compare with ABC.. 3) Most information I can get is in English and in ABCDEFG system. 4) System with H makes no sence as well. There are times when historically created strange things have to go, especially in a world of globalization.

[@MasterPeibol]

I had a bit of trouble when I first encountered the English nomenclature, mainly because it is based on the A minor scale and not the C major. But nowadays I don’t even have to think about it. I see C but my mind reads “Do”

[@tinker2217]

So you would play in the key of Do?

[@RenatoRamonda]

@@tinker2217 yes, of course.

[@tinker2217]

@@RenatoRamonda Wow. Learn something new everyday

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

Hi, I was wondering what exactly was surprising to you

[@ByzantineCalvinist]

My father grew up in Cyprus speaking Greek and learned another musical system traceable to the Byzantine era: Πα βου γα δι κε ζω νι πα. I don’t know a lot about it, but cantors in the Orthodox churches work with it all the time. I’d love to see you do a video on this.

[@ruthxk7844]

Looks similar to the hindustani/carnatic. To be fair he left the most interesting part out... I will investigate to find out about the Greek system! Καλά να σαι!

[@ruthxk7844]

Καλά, το βρήκα! ΠΑ-ΒΟΥ-ΓΑ-ΔΙ-ΚΕ-ΖΩ-ΝΗ Είχαμε αναφερθεί σε προηγούμενο σημείωμα στην προέλευση των ευρωπαϊκών νοτών (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si). Ας δούμε όμως ποια είναι η προέλευση των νοτών (ΠΑ-ΒΟΥ-ΓΑ-ΔΙ-ΚΕ-ΖΩ-ΝΗ) της Βυζαντινής μουσικής η οποία κάποτε είχε τα ονόματα των εφτά της φθόγγων να αποτελούνται από τα 7 πρώτα γράμματα της αλφαβήτου. Οι μελετητές της βυζαντινής μουσικής μετασχημάτισαν τα γράμματα αυτά σε εύηχες συλλαβές, έτσι το Α έγινε πΑ, το Β έγινε Βου, το Γ έγινε Γα, το Δ έγινε Δι, το Ε έγινε κΕ, το Ζ έγινε Ζω και το Η έγινε Νη, με βάση την πιο κάτω ακροστιχίδα: Πάλαι ήμαρτεν Αδάμ, εμακρύνθη του Θεού· βουληθείς δ’ ο Πλαστουργός, δούλου δέχεται μορφήν, γάλα πίνει εκ μητρός· εις μετάνοιαν καλεί, Διδαχών σκορπίζει φως, θαύματα πολλά ποιεί· κεφαλήν δ’ εχθρού πατεί, νεκρωθείς και αναστάς, ζωοδότης ων Θεός· και καλεί εις μέλλουσαν ζωήν νηπενθή πιστούς καλεί, όπου πρώτος εισελθών πάσαν έλαβεν αρχήν παρά του Θεού Πατρός….που σε μετάφραση στη νέα Ελληνική, σημαίνει: Τον αρχαίο καιρό αμάρτησε ο Αδάμ, απομακρύνθηκε από το Θεό· αποφασίζοντας δε ο Δημιουργός, δούλου παίρνει μορφή, γάλα πίνει από τη μητέρα· σε μετάνοια καλεί, των διδαχών σκορπίζει το φως, θαύματα πολλά επιτελεί· ενώ την κεφαλή του εχθρού πατά, αφού νεκρώθηκε και αναστήθηκε, όντας ζωοδότης Θεός· και προσκαλεί στη μέλλουσα ζωή χωρίς πένθος φωνάζει τους πιστούς, όπου ο πρώτος εισερχόμενος όλη ανάλαβε την εξουσία από τον Πατέρα Θεό. Να αναφέρουμε ότι οι φθόγγοι της βυζαντινής μουσικής δεν αντιστοιχούν με κάποια ορισμένη μουσική συχνότητα, όπως της ευρωπαϊκής μουσικής (λα = 440 Hz), θα μπορούσαμε όμως να πούμε πως το Πα αντιστοιχεί με το φθόγγο Ρε.

[@ikkue]

As Thailand didn't have data in the video, I'll provide it! We use what I guess you could call "Movable Do, but Not Really" Solfège, which goes like this; Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti. But while you explained in the video that "Movable Do" is used for relative pitch, here it is used as a fixed name for the notes like in "Fixed Do", just with the names derived from "Movable Do" instead. We were also taught some names for sharp and flat notes, like Te for B♭ and Fi for F♯

[@kornsuwin]

oh bi

[@yummypeach455]

Thai people here. We use Solfège for the notes but also learn about A-G system too, Solfège is more practical here due to nature of our language. Edit because I comment too fast : For sharp and flat we literally use it like that. For D flat we would just said "Re flat". One thing to note is that when talking about chords, we did use A-G. So when the teacher said "Play Sol" it would be the Sol note, but if they said "Play A" it would be a chord. Also we did use Ti instead of Si to avoid confusion with C chord.

[@johnsavard7583]

In English-speaking countries, Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do are still used for Solmization - naming the relative degrees of the current scale, rather than the absolute notes (if something is in the key of B flat, then B flat is Do). I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned right from the start.

[@talkingweevil3172]

They did mention that watch the whole video before commenting 😂

[@RoverT65536]

6:25 where's the Ti

[@talkingweevil3172]

@@RoverT65536 Ti is only there if it is relative pitch in places that use the alphabet system where as in solfege they use si

[@RoverT65536]

@@talkingweevil3172, yes, I was just pointing out the part of the video that explains it. I could have been clearer in my comment. Thanks for the clarification anyway.

[@talkingweevil3172]

@@RoverT65536 sorry my mistake

[@kaistinakemperdahl9667]

Growing up in a German speaking country, I was taught about the two systems and I think having both an absolute and a relative scale system is really handy for learning music theory.

[@TheAjithg]

In India we say Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa😊

[@Kerogas_]

Do - a deer, a female deer Re - a drop of golden sun

[@salmonidae3667]

I'm actually very surprised how you didn't mention the Korean system, which is Da, Ra, Ma, Ba, Sa, Ga, and Na corresponding to C, D, E, F, G, A, and B! I thought it would have been easy to find in places like Wikipedia.

[@nHans]

In India, like in the UK and US, we use ABCDEFG to learn and notate Western music. True, India has several native musical traditions of its own, including classical and folk. However, Western music is also very popular here: Rock, Pop, Metal, Rap/Hip-Hop, and to a much lesser extent, Jazz and Western Classical. Today, more people can play the guitar and electronic keyboard than traditional Indian instruments. Particularly for learning chords, ABC is the most straightforward notation.

[@PavelFomenkov]

- How confusing you want music notation be? - Yes!

[@stefanomartello3786]

Do was chosen because it's the beginning of the world Dominus (Lord) in latin, even though some people point out that it was very convenient for Doni to use those letter since his surname began with the same syllable.

[@fofwew]

English speaking countries are weird. Letters for notes? Inches? Miles? Pounds?

[@simonsanchezkumrich8489]

Fahrenheits, months before days, and so on lmao

[@fofwew]

@@simonsanchezkumrich8489 Exactly

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

@@simonsanchezkumrich8489 Yeah, but that's the US! We don't put up with that shit here in Australia! 😁

[@gergoretvari6373]

the letter system is actually useful

[@HattoriHanzo62]

WOW! You've a very good pronunciation. I'm Italian, living and Germany and fortunately my piano teacher is American: move from DO-RE-MI... to A-B-C-... it was not so complicated because of all the youtube videos I watch, but using B for B-flat and H for B would have been so confusing 🙂

[@afaelr]

Actually we use (at least here in Brazil) ABCDEFG for chords.

[@StefanRotenberg]

Only in writing tho

[@afaelr]

@@StefanRotenberg true

[@berdeter]

As a french speaking Belgian I only use solfège for mélodies and note reading but I mainly use the Abcdefg system for chords as most chords books for English songs such as real and fake books use that system.

[@claudiapane5857]

I'm italian musician. In ancient times the letter b indicated the B flat( be rotonda o mollis, from which the word "flat") and the b square writing ( be quadrum or duro) from which the word "bequadrum") indicated the natural si For a series of writing errors, the b quadrum script became "h". That is why there is the distinction between b ( si flat) and h ( si natural) The word "sharp" comes from Greek and means semitone.

[@morningwine2624]

Hey, we use the solfège in Japan too !!! Just like in Italy.... But there's a language bug we cannot pronounce a consonant without vowels. So instead of sol we say so, but that's it.