sol-fa
Americannoun
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Music. the set of syllables, do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti, sung to the respective tones of the scale. All but do and ti are attributed to Guido d'Arezzo.
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the system of singing tones to these syllables.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sol-fasimple
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sol-fassimple
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have sol-faedperfect
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has sol-faedperfect
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am sol-faingprogressive
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are sol-faingprogressive
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is sol-faingprogressive
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have been sol-faingperfect progressive
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has been sol-faingperfect progressive
Past
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sol-faedsimple
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had sol-faedperfect
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was sol-faingprogressive
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were sol-faingprogressive
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had been sol-faingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sol-fa
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They sing to la and sol-fa syllables scales gradually rising.
From The Boy's Voice A Book of Practical Information on The Training of Boys' Voices For Church Choirs, &c. by Curwen, John Spencer
The tune of My Country, 'Tis of Thee, as printed in tonic sol-fa notation below will make these points clear.
From Music Notation and Terminology by Gehrkens, Karl Wilson
By the phonetic system any spoken language can now be learned quickly and easily, just as by the sol-fa system the teaching of music was made easy and simple.
From Society for Pure English, Tract 02 On English Homophones by Bridges, Robert Seymour
The oldest of these is an edition of Marot and Beza's Psalms, dated 1567, and having music set to many of the Psalms in staff and sol-fa notation.
From Chronicles of Strathearn by Macdougall, W. B.
For many singers there is only one method of becoming good sight-readers, viz., combining the tonic sol-fa with the staff notation.
From The Influence of the Organ in History Inaugural Lecture of the Department of the Organ in the College of Music of Boston University by Buck, Dudley
There is nothing more natural than sol-faing by transposition, when the scale is transposed.
From Emile by Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
There is nothing funnier than what the French call "natural sol-faing;" it consists in removing the real meaning of things and putting in their place other meanings which only distract us.
From Emile by Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
The boys sing a new piece to words at once, never sol-faing.
From The Boy's Voice A Book of Practical Information on The Training of Boys' Voices For Church Choirs, &c. by Curwen, John Spencer
We articulate the notes we sing the better to distinguish them; hence the custom of sol-faing with certain syllables.
From Emile by Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
