Ear Training: As Easy as 'Do-Re-Mi'

Do, Re and Mi are the first few syllables of a melody that is comprised of the different notes of the major scale. By training your ear to recognize the sound of these notes, you’ll be on your way to learning major scales.

Solfège?

Maybe you haven't heard this word before, but you've probably heard someone singing "Do-Re-Mi." This is solfège. It is a system of using different syllables to refer to notes and is used in many countries throughout the world. Do, re, mi is as easy as 1, 2, 3, right? First, let’s review all of the syllables:

Do / Re / Mi / Fa / Sol / La / Ti / Do

These syllables correspond to the notes of the major scale. We use letters to refer to notes in the United States. Let’s take a look at the notes for a major scale in the key of C:

C / D / E / F / G / A / B / C

The solfège syllables correspond to notes of a C major scale:

If you play some piano, you might recognize that these are all of the white notes on the keyboard.

Sing "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do" to this melody and it will help embed the notes of a major scale in your mind’s ear.

Once you have it down, use it to troubleshoot when you are learning to play a major scale on the guitar. If you play an incorrect note, your ear will start to pick it up immediately, letting you know you're doing something wrong.

To learn how to play the C major scale, watch this video. If you're not a member of Fender Play yet, click here for a free trial.