Do-Re-Mi
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- This article is about the song from The Sound of Music. For the syllables of the major scale, see Solfege.
"Do-Re-Mi" is a song featured in the musical The Sound of Music. Within the story, it is used by Maria, played by Julie Andrews, to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children. The song is notable in that each syllable of the musical solfege system appears in its lyrics, sung on the pitch it names.
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. In The Sound of Music, it was transposed from C to B-flat.
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[edit] Word meanings
Do refers to Doe, defined as the female of a deer or related animal, "a deer, a female deer."
Re refers to Ray, 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 Far, defined as to or at the most distant or remote point, "a long long way to run".
So refers to Sew, to work with a needle and thread or with a sewing machine, "a needle pulling thread."
La is the note that follows So, "a note to follow So."
Ti refers to Tea, an aromatic, slightly bitter beverage made by steeping tea leaves in boiling water, "a drink with jam and bread."
[edit] Sing
When taught to children the lines are sung as follows:
Do, a deer, a female deer
Re, a drop of golden sun
Mi, a name I call myself
Fa, a long long way to run
So, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow so
Ti, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do,
The song is then repeated starting with Do. As part of a game each successive repeat of the song is sung faster. The full song from The Sound of Music has additional lines, which are commonly left out.
[edit] Trivia
- The song was parodied in The Simpsons episode Bart Gets an Elephant. In one scene Homer drives his car against the statue of a deer, whereupon Homer shouts: "D'oh", followed by Lisa: "A deer!" and then Marge who concludes: "A female deer."
- The Kids in the Hall perform the song in a sketch from their fourth season: Mark McKinney meets a boy who lost his dog, and the Kids sing the song to cheer him up.
- Scotland football supporters, the Tartan Army, have adopted the song as one of their principal songs. It was first sung during an away match against Switzerland (rather than Austria, curiously), and has been sung ever since.
- Do Re Mi is a song by Nirvana featured on their "With the Lights Out" album.
[edit] See also
- The alphabet song, which is used to learn the order of the letters in the alphabetical order, just like Do-Re-Mi is used to learn the order of the notes in the solfege scale.
- Musical scale
