Solfège & Movable Do
Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do isn't tied to the key of C. In movable do, "do" simply means "home" — wherever home happens to be.
What solfège syllables represent
Solfège assigns a sung syllable to each degree of the major scale: do–re–mi–fa–sol–la–ti–do. Each syllable isn't just a label — it carries a distinct feel, because each scale degree has a distinct relationship to the tonic. "Do" feels like home. "Ti" leans hard toward resolving up to "do." "Fa" often wants to fall to "mi." Singing these syllables trains you to feel those pulls directly, rather than just naming notes.
Movable do vs. fixed do
There are two ways to use solfège. In fixed do, "do" always means the literal pitch C — it's essentially just another name for absolute note names, and it doesn't change with the key. In movable do, "do" is reassigned to the tonic of whatever key you're in: in C major, do is C; in G major, do is G; in E♭ major, do is E♭. The syllables always describe the same function — scale degree 1, 2, 3, and so on — no matter what key you're actually in.
That's what makes movable do so useful for ear training: once you can hear that a melody goes "do-re-mi," you can hear that shape in any key, instantly, without re-learning it for every new tonic.
Common questions
What is solfège?
A system of sung syllables — do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do — representing the degrees of a scale, helping singers internalize pitch relationships.
What is movable do?
Movable do reassigns "do" to the tonic of whatever key you're in, so "do" is always scale degree 1 regardless of key — making solfège transferable.
How is movable do different from fixed do?
Fixed do always means the literal pitch C; movable do always means the tonic, so the same syllables describe the same scale-degree function in every key.
Why is movable do useful for ear training?
It ties each syllable to a function rather than a fixed pitch, letting you recognize a note's role — like a strong pull toward home — in any key.
Train your ear for real
Melody Monkey's Ear Training game drills scale-degree and interval recognition with instant feedback and rewards correct answers with credits.
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