What's the difference between movable do and fixed do?

Movable do: 'do' is always the tonic of the current key. In C major, do=C; in G major, do=G. The same syllables describe the same scale degree across every key. Fixed do: 'do' is always C, regardless of the key. In G major, the tonic is still called 'sol'. Movable do is the system used in tonic solfa, jianpu, and Kodály pedagogy; fixed do is the standard in French and Italian conservatories.

Which is better for learning to sight-sing?

Movable do, by a wide margin for most learners. Because the syllables describe relative intervals, you can transpose any melody to any key and sing it the same way. Fixed do trains absolute pitch recognition but makes transposition cognitively harder.

Almost universally movable do, British, African, American, Filipino, and most Asian choir traditions use movable do. The exception is conservatory choirs in France, Italy, and parts of Latin America, where fixed do is the local convention.

Does DomiSol support both?

DomiSol is built around movable do, tonic solfa (d r m f s l t) and jianpu (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) are both movable-do systems. Fixed-do labelling isn't built in; that's an explicit design choice because movable do is the system 99% of the target audience reads.

6 min read · Updated 2026-05-26

Foundational concept

Movable do vs fixed do, which solfege to learn.

Two solfege systems share the same syllables but use them in opposite ways. The choice shapes how you'll sight-sing, transpose, and teach for the rest of your career.

The two systems, in one sentence each

Movable do: 'do' is always the tonic of the current key. In C major, do=C. In G major, do=G. In F major, do=F. The syllables track scale function, not absolute pitch.

Fixed do: 'do' is always C, regardless of key. In G major, the tonic is still called 'sol' (because G is the fifth of C). The syllables track absolute pitch, not scale function.

Side by side

TODO: comparison table, column 1: movable do, column 2: fixed do. Rows: 'do' in C major, 'do' in G major, transposition cost, sight-singing approach, dominant tradition, best for, worst for.

Why movable do dominates

TODO: transposition is free (the syllables don't change), sight-singing is interval-based (do-mi is always a major third), works without absolute pitch, scales to any key the choir is comfortable in. Cite the African, British, American, and Asian traditions using it.

Where fixed do still wins

TODO: French / Italian / Latin American conservatories. Pairs naturally with absolute pitch training. Used in atonal music (where there's no tonic, movable do has nothing to anchor to).

Which should YOU learn?

TODO: branching guidance, choir singer → movable do. Conservatory student → check your school's tradition. Self-teaching composer / songwriter → movable do. Sight-singing teacher → movable do unless the institution mandates otherwise.

Practice movable do in DomiSol

DomiSol is movable-do all the way down. Write a melody in any key, the syllables stay the same; only the playback pitches change.

Open the free tonic solfa editor →