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Every key

B major: doh is B, 1 = B.

Where every solfa syllable and jianpu number sits in B major, how each notation writes the key, and the keys a hymn in B moves to.

The B major scale in solfa and jianpu

Solfa and jianpu are movable do: the syllables and numbers name the steps of the scale, not fixed pitches. In B major, step one is B, so this is what each one sounds as.

StepSolfaSaidJianpuNote
1 d doh 1 B
2 r ray 2 C♯
3 m mi 3 D♯
4 f fah 4 E
5 s soh 5 F♯
6 l lah 6 G♯
7 t ti 7 A♯

The next doh up, written with an octave mark above (a dot above the 1 in jianpu), is B again, an octave higher. The doh-mi-soh chord, d m s or 1 3 5, is B D♯ F♯.

How each notation writes the key

  • Tonic solfa: a key line at the start, such as Key B or Doh is B. Nothing else on the page changes with the key.
  • Jianpu: 1 = B at the top left, beside the time signature.
  • Staff notation: 5 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯) in the key signature. The same sound can also be written as C♭ major, and some books print it that way.

That is why moving a hymn into B costs nothing in solfa or jianpu: you change the key line and every syllable stays where it was. The guide to transposing in solfa shows how to choose the new key for a choir.

Fe and ta: the two altered notes you meet most

SolfaJianpuNote in BWhat it usually does
fe ♯4 E♯ Leans up to soh, often on the way into F♯ major
ta ♭7 A Leans down to lah, often on the way into E major

Every raised and lowered syllable is in the tonic solfa primer.

The keys a hymn in B moves to

A modulation in solfa is written as a change of doh, so the question is which note becomes the new doh.

  • Up to soh: F♯ major. Soh (F♯) becomes the new doh, and the old fe (E♯) becomes the new ti. This is the commonest change of key in a hymn tune.
  • Down to fah: E major. Fah (E) becomes the new doh, and the old ta (A) becomes the new fah.

The relative minor: G♯ minor, on lah

G♯ minor uses the same seven notes as B major and centres on lah (G♯). Solfa keeps doh as B and the tune simply settles on l. Jianpu usually states the minor on 6 instead: 6 = G♯. The guide to minor keys in jianpu explains why.

Questions people ask about B major

What is doh in the key of B?

Doh is B. In B major the solfa syllables d r m f s l t sound as B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A♯, and the doh an octave up is B again.

How is B major written in jianpu?

As 1 = B, at the top left of the score. The numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 then sound as B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A♯.

How many sharps or flats does B major have?

5 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯) in staff notation. In solfa and jianpu you write none of them: the key line (doh is B, or 1 = B) says where the scale starts, and the syllables or numbers carry the rest.

What is the relative minor of B major?

G♯ minor, which starts on lah (6) and uses the same seven notes. In jianpu a piece in G♯ minor is usually written 6 = G♯; in solfa the key line still names doh (B) and the tune centres on lah.

Write a score in B

DomiSol is a free editor for tonic solfa and jianpu. Set the key to B, type d r m or 1 2 3, and press play to hear it at pitch. To find the note before the choir sings, the online pitch pipe plays B and every other doh.

Every key

All twelve keys in one table