Solfege Converter - Notes to Do Re Mi in Movable and Fixed Do

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What solfege is

Solfege is a system of syllables for singing notes: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti. Instead of singing note names like C or F sharp, singers sing syllables, which are easier to sing quickly and which describe how each note feels in the key. The syllables come from an old hymn, and they have been used to teach musicians to hear and sing in tune for over a thousand years.

Solfege does two jobs. First, it gives every note a singable name, so a melody can be sung without an instrument. Second, in the movable do system, it describes each note’s function: do always feels like home, sol feels like it wants to resolve to do, and ti leans hard into do. Sing a melody in solfege and you feel its structure, not just its notes.

Movable do and fixed do

There are two main systems, and they disagree about what do means. In movable do, do is the tonic, the home note of whatever key you are in. In C major, do is C. In G major, do is G. The syllables move with the key, so the same melody sung in a different key uses the same syllables. This system teaches relative pitch: hearing how notes relate to the tonic.

In fixed do, do is always C, whatever the key. Re is always D, mi is always E, and so on. The syllables are just another set of note names, and they do not move. This system is standard in France, Spain, Italy and much of Latin America, and it teaches absolute pitch: hearing each note for itself. Both systems work, and musicians often learn one deeply and understand the other.

Chromatic syllables

The seven main syllables cover the notes of a major scale. Chromatic notes, the sharps and flats between them, get their own syllables in movable do. Raised notes use syllables ending in i: di, ri, fi, si, li. Lowered notes use syllables ending in e or a: ra, me, se, le, te. So in C major, F sharp is fi, and B flat is te. These syllables let singers sing chromatic melodies accurately, which is essential for jazz, Romantic music and much modern songwriting.

In fixed do, chromatic notes are usually named by adding sharp or flat to the syllable: do sharp, mi flat. Some traditions use the same i and e endings, but the fixed do rule stays the same: the letter name decides the syllable, and the accidental just modifies it.

How to use the converter

Enter notes separated by spaces, using letter names with sharps or flats, for example C D E F G A B. Pick movable do or fixed do, and for movable do pick the key. The converter returns the syllables in order. Try the C major scale in movable do with the key set to C: you get do re mi fa sol la ti. Then change the key to G and enter the same notes: now C is fa, D is sol, and so on, because the tonic moved.

Use the converter to practise sight singing. Take a melody, convert it to solfege, and sing the syllables before you play it. At first this feels slow, but it builds the skill that lets experienced musicians hear a melody from the page. Solfege is the bridge between seeing notes and hearing them.

Why solfege helps

Solfege trains relative pitch, the ability to hear how far apart notes are and where they sit in a key. A musician with good relative pitch can learn songs by ear faster, harmonise a melody on the spot, and transpose music into any key without rewriting it. These are practical skills, not party tricks: they are how working musicians survive rehearsals, jam sessions and church gigs.

It also helps with memory. A melody remembered as do mi sol is easier to recall and transpose than a melody remembered as C E G, because the syllables carry the shape of the melody, not just its starting point. Many music schools teach solfege from the first lesson for exactly this reason.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is mixing the two systems: singing do for C while thinking in movable do in the key of G. Pick one system for each exercise and stick to it. Another mistake is forgetting the chromatic syllables and singing a sharp note with the nearest diatonic syllable, which trains the ear to hear it as the wrong note. Finally, remember that in movable do minor keys, do is the tonic of the minor key, so in A minor, A is do and C is mi, not do.

Use the converter to check yourself, then sing without it. The tool is training wheels: the goal is to hear the syllables in your head before you sing a single note.

Solfege Converter – Notes to Do Re Mi in Movable and Fixed Do