Solfa syllables (d r m f s l t)

Tonic solfa names each degree of the major scale with a syllable: doh (1), ray (2), mi (3), fah (4), soh (5), lah (6) and ti (7). On the page each is written by its first letter, so the scale reads d r m f s l t, and the doh an octave above closes it as d r m f s l t d. The syllables are movable: doh is whatever note the key starts on, so d r m is C D E in C major and G A B in G major. A raised note changes its vowel to e (fe is fah sharpened) and a lowered one to a (ta is ti flattened). Jianpu writes the same seven steps as the numbers 1 to 7.

Etymology & origin

From Guido of Arezzo's ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la (eleventh century). Sarah Ann Glover and John Curwen respelled them in nineteenth-century England so that every syllable starts with a different letter. Curwen's books spell the seventh te; ti is the spelling most choirs use today.

In context

Example	What it means
d r m f s l t d	The major scale, sung doh ray mi fah soh lah ti doh
l t d r m f s l	The minor scale, which starts on lah
d m s	Doh, mi, soh: the tonic chord of any major key

Sources

Reference: en.wikipedia.org , consulted for the definition above; DomiSol's wording is original.