Ut Queant Laxis: Origin of the Note Names Do Re Mi

Score of the hymn Ut queant laxis, in which each phrase begins one scale step higher — The melody of *Ut queant laxis* as used by Guido d’Arezzo: each of the first six phrases starts one step higher. Image by Romainbehar, Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si come from a medieval Latin hymn to St. John the Baptist, Ut queant laxis. The words are traditionally attributed to Paul the Deacon, a Lombard historian of the 8th century. In the 11th century the Italian monk Guido d’Arezzo used the hymn to teach singers to learn melodies, and the first syllable of each line became the name of a note.

These syllables are the fixed-do note names used in Spanish-, Italian- and French-speaking countries: Do = C, Re = D, Mi = E, Fa = F, Sol = G, La = A, Si = B. English speakers normally use the letters (C D E F G A B) and use do re mi as movable-do syllables for singing. This page uses letters, with the syllables in parentheses.

The text of the hymn

The Latin text is below. It is a hymn for the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), and it asks the saint to free the singers' voices of weakness so that they can praise him:

Ut queant laxis
Resonare fibris
Mira gestorum
Famuli tuorum
Solve polluti
Labii reatum
Sancte Iohannes

The melody Guido used has a special feature: each of the first six phrases begins one step higher than the one before, on the notes C D E F G A. Taking the first syllable of each line gives the names of those six notes:

Ut (C)
Re (D)
Mi (E)
Fa (F)
Sol (G)
La (A)

That is only six notes. The seventh name, si, came later, from the initials of the last line, Sancte Iohannes.

Guido d’Arezzo and the hexachords

Guido d’Arezzo (born around 991, died after 1033) did not invent the hymn, and the tune may well be older than him. His contribution was teaching: in his writings from about 1025 to 1030 (the Micrologus and a letter to a fellow monk, the Epistola de ignoto cantu) he describes a method for learning unfamiliar chant. A singer memorizes the six syllables, each tied to a step of the scale, and can then recognize any melody by the syllables that fit it. The key landmark is the half step mi–fa, which is the same in every group of six.

These groups of six notes are called hexachords, and in the later Middle Ages there were three:

the natural hexachord, starting on C: C D E F G A (ut re mi fa sol la);
the soft hexachord (mollis), starting on F and using B♭: F G A B♭ C D;
the hard hexachord (durum), starting on G and using B♮: G A B♮ C D E.

A singer who went beyond the range of one hexachord switched to another, a process called mutation. This system, solmization, was used across Europe for centuries. Historians generally think the complete system of three hexachords and mutations developed after Guido, even though it is traditionally linked to his name.

A common misunderstanding is that Guido invented the names of the notes. He did not make up the syllables; he took them from an existing hymn and turned them into a teaching method. He is also traditionally credited with helping to spread the use of staff lines to show pitch, which is one reason he is often called the father of modern notation.

The seventh note and the change from ut to do

The medieval hexachord had no seventh name. The syllable si, made from the initials of Sancte Iohannes, was added when singers began to treat the scale as seven notes. When exactly, and by whom, is not settled: accounts mention the Flemish musician Anselmus of Flanders around 1600 and others, and the use of seven syllables spread slowly during the 16th and 17th centuries. In English-speaking countries si was later changed to ti (by the 19th-century teacher Sarah Glover) so that each syllable starts with a different letter.

Ut is a closed syllable that is awkward to sing. In the 17th century the Italian theorist Giovanni Battista Doni proposed replacing it with do, an open syllable. Where he took it from is uncertain: it is said to come from the word Dominus (Lord) or from his own surname. The change was gradually adopted in Italy, Spain and other countries. In French, ut survives only in a few traditional terms such as clef d’ut (C clef).

With that last change we reach the seven note names used in fixed-do countries today: Do – Re – Mi – Fa – Sol – La – Si (C D E F G A B).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the hymn Ut queant laxis?

It is a medieval Latin hymn to St. John the Baptist, with words traditionally attributed to Paul the Deacon (8th century). Guido d’Arezzo used its melody as a memory aid because each of the first six phrases starts one step higher than the last, so the first syllable of each line matches one note of the scale.

Who invented the names of the musical notes?

Nobody invented them from scratch. The syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol and la are the first syllables of the lines of the hymn. Guido d’Arezzo made them a teaching method in the 11th century, and the later names do and si were added over the following centuries.

Why do we say do instead of ut?

In the 17th century the Italian theorist Giovanni Battista Doni proposed do in place of ut, because do is an open syllable that is easier to sing. Ut is a closed syllable and harder to sing.

Where does the note name si come from?

Si comes from the initials of Sancte Iohannes, the last line of the hymn. It was added later, as the seventh note of the scale, between the late 16th and the 17th century. English speakers changed it to ti.

What are the seven notes and how did they originate?

Do (formerly ut), re, mi, fa, sol, la and si correspond to C, D, E, F, G, A and B in fixed-do countries. The first six come from the first syllables of the lines of the hymn to St. John; si was added later from the initials of Sancte Iohannes.

To keep learning, see the music dictionary with all the theory concepts, and the interactive exercises to practice reading notes on the staff.