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Unit 4 · On your own

Where do re mi come from?

Learn how Guido of Arezzo named the notes about a thousand years ago from a hymn whose lines each start a note higher, then sing ut, re, mi up and down. Free.

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What it teaches

About a thousand years ago, Guido of Arezzo taught singers the notes with a hymn, Ut queant laxis, whose half-lines each start one note higher. He named the notes after their first syllables.

Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. "Ut" became "do" in 17th-century Italy

Mi to fa is the half step. The smallest step, the one to tune with care

Low notes easy. Never pressed down

What you sing

  1. Up the six notes on their syllables, at your own pace.
  2. Listen, then sing them back, up.
  3. Now up and back down.

Singing safely

Sing at an easy volume, in the middle of your range. Stop if anything tightens, scratches or hurts, and rest your voice.

Free tools by Stackapella

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Stackapella teaches you to sing harmony one part at a time, right in your browser.

Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up.
  • A guide sings your partHear your line over the others, slow it down, then take your turn.
  • Your notes light upEach note shows where you landed, and a hint when to go up or down.
  • Record every part yourselfStack your takes in time until you're the whole choir.
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