Do, Re, Mi on the keyboard
This piano writes the solfège syllable on every key. In fixed do, used here, the syllables are tied to pitches: Do is always C, Re is D, Mi is E, Fa is F, Sol is G, La is A and Si is B. Do sits just left of each pair of black keys, and the pattern repeats every octave. The black keys are labelled as sharps (Do♯, Re♯, Fa♯, Sol♯, La♯). The Do with the small dot is middle C.
| Solfège | Do | Re | Mi | Fa | Sol | La | Si |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter | C | D | E | F | G | A | B |
Fixed do is how notes are named in school music in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and much of Eastern Europe. In the English-speaking world solfège is usually movable do, where Do is the first note of whatever major scale you are in; in C major both systems give the same names, so the labels here also work for singing exercises in C.
Practising with the labels
Play the scale Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si Do on the white keys from middle C, singing along, then try it with the labels switched off (Labels › No labels). Press Record before you play to hear yourself back with the keys lighting up, and download the MIDI file to open it in notation software.
With a computer keyboard, the top letter row starts on the dotted Do: Q is Do, W Re, E Mi, and so on up to I for the next Do. To see letter names instead, open the piano with letters.