Irish Fixed Do Solfège - D instead of C

I used an AI prompt to create this image

Solfège is a musical system that uses distinct syllables for the notes in a scale (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti). A great thing about solfège is it relates everything back to the major scale. If you are a musician, the major scale has a sound you are probably already familiar with. Whenever a note is flatter than the major scale, the solfège syllable rhymes with "ay". Whenever a note is sharper than the major scale, the solfège syllable rhymes with "ee".

For example, normally note 4 of the major scale is Fa, as in Do, Re, Mi, Fa. However, when the four is sharpened, like in the Lydian mode, the Fa (fah) sound becomes Fi (fee). This made me wonder if the Phish song Fee had a sharp four and Google says yes, Fee by Phish features a sharp four chord in its harmonic progression. Very clever Trey Anastasio!

One type of solfège is fixed do solfège where each syllable is permanently assigned to a specific absolute pitch. Normally C is always Do, D is always Re, and E is always Mi, regardless of the key or musical context. However, as an ear training method for Irish trad, I thought it would be fun to base the fixed do around the note D since D plays such an important role in Irish trad. D being the lowest note on the D-whistle and Irish tunes being so fundamentally diatonic.

Doing it this way, D is always Do, E is always Re, F# is always Mi, G is always Fa, A is always So, B is always La, and C# is always Ti. The other notes you have to remember are F is Me (may), G# is Fi (fee), Bb is Le (lay), and C is Te (tay). Using this form of notation, the first two measures of Swallowtail Jig would be Fa-Re-Re, La-Re-Re, Fa-Re-Re, La-So-Fa.

D-Ionian (AKA the major scale, key signature two sharps)

D = Do (doh)

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E = Re (ray)

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F# = Mi (mee)

G = Fa (fah)

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A = So (so)

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B = La (lah)

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C# = Ti (tee)

D = Do (doh)

D-Dorian (flat 3, flat 7, key signature no sharps or flats)

D = Do (doh)

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E = Re (ray)

F = Me (may)

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G = Fa (fah)

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A = So (soh)

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B = La (lah)

C = Te (tay)

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D = Do (doh)

D-Lydian (sharp four, key signature 3 sharps)

D = Do (doh)

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E = Re (ray)

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F# = Mi (mee)

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G# = Fi (fee!)

A = So (soh)

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B = La (lah)

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C# = Ti (tee)

D = Do (doh)

D-Mixolydian (flat 7, key signature one sharp)

D = Do (doh)

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E = Re (ray)

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F# = Mi (mee)

G = Fa (fah)

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A = So (soh)

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B = La (lah)

C = Te (tay)

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D = Do (doh)

D-Aeolian (flat3, flat 6, flat 7, key signature one flat)

D = Do (doh)

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E = Re (ray)

F = Me (may)

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G = Fa (fah)

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A = So (soh)

Bb = Le (lay)

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C= Te (tay)

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D = Do (doh)

D-Harmonic Minor (flat 3, flat 6)

D = Do (doh)

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E = Re (ray)

F = Me (may)

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G = Fa (fah)

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A = So (soh)

Bb = Le (lay)

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C# = Ti (tee)

D = Do (doh)

Here's an exercise my music teacher Brad Overton gave me. Find a D drone on YouTube and try playing and singing these scales over the D drone. When doing a scale other then the Ionian/major scale, listen for the "weirdness" of the notes highlighted above.

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