What is the solfa method to learn intervals?

Question

I am working on recognizing intervals. I am reading online material to determine which technique would be the most efficient.

I came across this article:

The second method is “solfa”. This is the “do re mi” approach made famous by the childrens song in The Sound of Music. But don’t let that fool you. Solfa (also called “solfege”) is probably the most powerful and versatile framework there is for learning relative pitch. There’s a bit of a learning curve but if you’re truly dedicated to developing your musicianship solfa is a great choice.

I do not know what this method is. I looked online, and found the song.

However, I do not understand what method of learning this is. Can anyone explain?

Answer 1

The solfege idea is that each note in a major scale has its own name - it could just as easily have a number, but here it has a name.

It uses the movable do system, whereby do is always regarded as the root note. So do = 1 or C (in key C), re = 2 or D, mi = 3 or E, fa = 4 or F, sol = G or 5, la = 6 or A, and ti (sometimes si) = B or 7. Each name is designated to a particular number note, whatever the key is.

We then learn to sing each letter name using do as the base point, and the intervals become apparent as we learn what each note sounds like against it. Thus, for example, do re mi do, do re mi do would be the solfege equivalent of Frere Jacques.

In France, it's commonplace to sing in such a way, except that it's complicated (or not!) by the fact that there, fixed do is used. Thus any key other than C will have sharps or flats involved with the notes - although that system doesn't lend itself to interval training much at all - only in key C!

Listening to Doe a Deer, later in the song, the solfege names are sung as a sort of counterpoint to the tune.

So, yes, it can be part of interval learning, but in somewhat a roundabout way, maybe not the easiest, as it doesn't acually teach intervals per se. Unless you go to the trouble of working out each name against its particular partner's for that interval - like mi>sol = m3, sol>do = P5.

Answer 2

Tim's answer is great. Just to fill in the "why" of moveable-do: it doesn't teach intervals in the abstract (M3, P4), but it does teach "tonicity." It teaches the dominant feel of scale degree 5, the leading tone of ^7, etc. IMO this is even more useful for the end goal of "singing in tune" then being able to string together a series of decontextualized intervals. To compare it to someone navigating a course, you hold the tonic and dominant in your head and orient other pitches in relation to them, like someone navigating with a compass, instead of someone whose directions are "turn 45 degrees left, turn 18 degrees right," and have no fixed reference against which to check their accuracy.

Also, a bit of trivia: Where do these nonsense syllables come from? Ultimately, from the lyrics to a song: a song used, much like "Do a Deer", as a mnemonic to remember scalar steps. A medieval choir director took a song in which each line started one note higher, and used the first syllable of the Latin word that started each line as a mnemonic for that note of the scale.