Do-Re-Mi
Encyclopedia
"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune
from the 1959
Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical
The Sound of Music
. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children
who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father has disallowed frivolity after their mother's death. The song is notable in that each syllable of the musical solfege
system appears in its lyrics, sung on the pitch it names.
In the stage version, Maria sings this song in the living room of Captain von Trapp's house, shortly after she introduces herself to the children. However, when Ernest Lehman
adapted the stage script into a screenplay for the 1965 film adaptation
, he moved the song to later on in the story. In the film, Maria and the children sing this song over a montage as they wander and frolic over Salzburg
.
The song soon became popular in its own right. It is often sung in day care
centers. It is also often one of the first songs that children will learn to play on simple children's instruments that have only the eight notes of one octave
of the major C to C scale. It was originally written in this key in the sheet music and is sung this way in the original stage version of The Sound of Music
. However, in the film
version it was transposed from C to B-flat.
.)
The lyrics teach the solfege syllables by linking them with British English (not North American) homophone
s (or near-homophones):
As the song concludes, "Now you can sing these in any order and once you know the notes you can 'sing most any thing'".
Author Douglas Adams
noted in his article "Unfinished Business of the Century" that, while each line of the lyric takes the name of a note from the sol-fa scale, and gives its meaning, "La, a note to follow So..." doesn't fit that pattern and should be considered a placeholder. Adams imagined, in key of humour, that Oscar Hammerstein just bunged in "A note to follow So" and thought he'd have another look at it later, but he couldn't come up with anything better.
covered this song for their 1965 album The Chipmunks Sing with Children
.
The song was referenced in Madonna
's 1992 hit, "Deeper and Deeper
" with the line "When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything."
The chorus of the song is also regularly sung by football fans of the Scotland national football team
, otherwise known as the Tartan Army
.
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
from the 1959
1959 in music
-Events:*January 5 – The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held.*January 12 – Tamla Records is founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan....
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children
Von Trapp children
The Von Trapp Children are a musical group made up of Justin, Amanda, Melanie, and Sofia von Trapp, descendants of the Trapp Family Singers. They are the grandchildren of Werner von Trapp and great-grandchildren of Georg Ritter von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead, and the...
who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father has disallowed frivolity after their mother's death. The song is notable in that each syllable of the musical solfege
Solfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
system appears in its lyrics, sung on the pitch it names.
In the stage version, Maria sings this song in the living room of Captain von Trapp's house, shortly after she introduces herself to the children. However, when Ernest Lehman
Ernest Lehman
Ernest Lehman was an American screenwriter. He received 6 Academy Award nominations during his screenwriting career...
adapted the stage script into a screenplay for the 1965 film adaptation
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
, he moved the song to later on in the story. In the film, Maria and the children sing this song over a montage as they wander and frolic over Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
.
The song soon became popular in its own right. It is often sung in day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
centers. It is also often one of the first songs that children will learn to play on simple children's instruments that have only the eight notes of one octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
of the major C to C scale. It was originally written in this key in the sheet music and is sung this way in the original stage version of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
. However, in the film
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
version it was transposed from C to B-flat.
Word meanings
(For the actual origins of the solfege, refer to SolfegeSolfege
In music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
.)
The lyrics teach the solfege syllables by linking them with British English (not North American) homophone
Homophone
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...
s (or near-homophones):
- Do refers to DoeDeerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, defined as the female of a deer or related animal, "a deer, a female deer." - Re refers to RayRay (optics)In optics, a ray is an idealized narrow beam of light. Rays are used to model the propagation of light through an optical system, by dividing the real light field up into discrete rays that can be computationally propagated through the system by the techniques of ray tracing. This allows even very...
, defined as a thin line or narrow beam of light or other radiant energy, "a drop of golden sun." - Mi refers to Me, the objective pronoun referring to the speaker, "a name I call myself."
- Fa refers to FarDistanceDistance is a numerical description of how far apart objects are. In physics or everyday discussion, distance may refer to a physical length, or an estimation based on other criteria . In mathematics, a distance function or metric is a generalization of the concept of physical distance...
, defined as to or at the most distant or remote point, "a long long way to run". - So refers to SewSewingSewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era...
, to work with a needle and thread or with a sewing machine, "a needle pulling thread." ('So' is an often-used alternate for the actual corresponding syllable in the solfege system, Sol.) - La lacks a satisfactory homophone (see below), and the line needs to rhyme with 'Do', so it is simply "a note to follow so"
- Ti refers to TeaTeaTea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, a popular hot beverage made by steeping tea leaves in boiling water, "a drink with jam and bread / That will bring us back to 'Do'."
As the song concludes, "Now you can sing these in any order and once you know the notes you can 'sing most any thing'".
Author Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
noted in his article "Unfinished Business of the Century" that, while each line of the lyric takes the name of a note from the sol-fa scale, and gives its meaning, "La, a note to follow So..." doesn't fit that pattern and should be considered a placeholder. Adams imagined, in key of humour, that Oscar Hammerstein just bunged in "A note to follow So" and thought he'd have another look at it later, but he couldn't come up with anything better.
In popular culture
Alvin and the ChipmunksAlvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
covered this song for their 1965 album The Chipmunks Sing with Children
The Chipmunks Sing with Children
The Chipmunks Sing with Children is an album by Alvin and the Chipmunks with David Seville. It was released on January 1, 1965 by Liberty Records.- Side one :# "Do-Re-Mi"# "Rag Mop"# "Me Too "# "Mister Sandman"# "Hello Dolly"...
.
The song was referenced in Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's 1992 hit, "Deeper and Deeper
Deeper and Deeper
"Deeper and Deeper" is a song by Madonna, released as the second single from her 1992 studio album Erotica. It was released in December 1992 by Maverick Records....
" with the line "When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything."
The chorus of the song is also regularly sung by football fans of the Scotland national football team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, otherwise known as the Tartan Army
Tartan Army
The Tartan Army is a name given to fans of the Scotland national football team. They have won awards from several organisations for their friendly behaviour and charitable work...
.
See also
- The alphabet songAlphabet songAn alphabet song is any of various songs used to teach children an alphabet, used in kindergartens, pre-schools and homes around the world. Alphabet songs typically follow the alphabetic principle...
, which is used to learn the letters of the alphabet. - Musical scaleMusical scaleIn music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
- SolfègeSolfegeIn music, solfège is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable...
- SolresolSolresolSolresol is an artificial language devised by François Sudre, beginning in 1827. He published his major book on it, Langue musicale universelle, in 1866, though he had already been publicizing it for some years...