tonic sol-fa


noun
  1. a system of singing characterized by emphasis upon tonality or key relationship, in which tones are indicated by the initial letters of the syllables of the sol-fa system rather than by conventional staff notation.

Origin of tonic sol-fa

1
First recorded in 1850–55

Words Nearby tonic sol-fa

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How to use tonic sol-fa in a sentence

  • Then they all learned songs together from tonic sol-fa, singing in a circle round the fire.

    Sons and Lovers | David Herbert Lawrence
  • "I had learned the tonic sol-fa notation by heart before I was twenty," he added.

    Mrs. Bindle | Hebert Jenkins
  • Free use is made of the tonic sol-fa as well as the standard notation in many musical examples.

  • Instruction in sight-singing should begin by teaching the staff notation through the tonic sol-fa method.

    Music As A Language | Ethel Home
  • "Dodo" may be impersonated by showing a bar of music containing the two representative notes of the tonic sol-fa method.

    Breakfasts and Teas | Paul Pierce

British Dictionary definitions for tonic sol-fa

tonic sol-fa

noun
  1. a method of teaching music, esp singing, used mainly in Britain, by which the syllables of a movable system of solmization are used as names for the notes of the major scale in any key. In this system sol is usually replaced by so as the name of the fifth degree: See solmization

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