What Are Solfege Sharps And Flats?

Do you get confused about how to sing sharps and flats?

Are you struggling to figure out which solfege you sing when you see accidentals?

Accidentals throw people off a lot.

I’ve seen it with all ages of musicians in my 10+ years of teaching.

But they don’t have to be scary!

This is why I decided to put forward this brief explanation of solfege sharps and flats.

Solfege sharps and flats may not alter the solfege syllables if they belong in the key. When we raise solfege notes (sharps), we change the vowel sound to “ee.” When we lower solfege notes (flats), we change the vowel sound to “ae” or “ah.”

Check out the rest of the post for more details on solfege with accidentals.

Table of Contents

Solfege Sharps And Flats From The Beginning

Before we delve into solfege altered, let’s be clear about what the terms sharp and flat mean in music.

To do this, we need to look at naturals first.

What Is A Natural?

A natural is an unaltered note.

If the note is a C, it stays a C.

You don’t need to specify if a note is natural; it’s assumed an unmarked note is natural.

The exception is when there is a sharp or flat in the key signature.

If there is one on the far left side of the measure, before where the notes happen, they stick through the whole piece.

What Are Sharps?

When the note needs to be raised by a half step, it’s called a sharp.

A sharp is notated by a #.

Once a # is seen, it doesn’t need to be rewritten for the rest of the measure.

However, once you pass a measure line, though, the note returns to the natural state.

What Are Flats?

When the note needs to be lowered by a half step, it’s called a flat.

A sharp is notated by a b.

Once a b is seen, it doesn’t need to be rewritten for the rest of the measure.

However, once you pass a measure line, though, the note returns to the natural state.

How To Handle Solfege With Accidentals

There are two simple steps to handle when you see accidentals or sharps and flats.

They may seem tricky at first, but take your time, and you’ll be fine.

Step 1: Consider The Key/Scale

First, you need to look at the key and scale of the song you’re doing.

If the sharp or flat belongs in the key, you don’t need to do anything.

A good rule of thumb is to consider the key signature.

This is shown in the far left of each system or line of music.

If the sharp or flat is in the far left, it’s a normal part of the key.

Now, you just need to figure out what the starting pitch is.

This will be either Do or La.

From there, you simply go up your solfege notes in order.

If it’s major, you start on Do.

If it’s minor, you start on La.

Learn more about solfege for minor scales.

Fortunately, major and minor keys use the same key signatures.

Figuring Out The Key

Here is a 3-part general rule of thumb, which applies to 95% of the music you’ll see.

1. If there are no sharps or flats in the key signature, C = Do and A = La.

2. If there are sharps, the note above the last sharp is Do, and the note below is La.

For example, if the last sharp if F#, the note above (G) is Do. The note below (E) is La.

3. If there are flats, the flat before the last one is Do, and La is two steps below Do.

For example, if there are 3 flats (Bb, Eb, and Ab), the flat before the end is Eb.

Eb is Do. Two steps below (C) is La.

The exception is if there is only one flat.

In this case, F is Do, and D is La.

For a complete guide to solfege to notes, including every scale spelled out, click the link.

Step 2: Find The Altered Syllable

If the sharp or flat isn’t part of the key signature, then you have a little bit of work to do.

For sharps, change the vowel sound to an “ee” syllable.

For example, Do# becomes Di (“dee”).

Note: Mi and Ti don’t get raised.

Here is the list of all sharp syllables:

For flats, the vowel moves to “ae” or “ah.”

For example, Mib becomes Me (“meh”).

Note: Do and Fa don’t lower.

Here is the list of all flat syllables:

Ra
Me
Se
Le
Ta or Te

Check out this complete guide on chromatic solfege.

Commonly Asked Questions

What is a solfege ladder? – A solfege ladder is a visual representation of the solfege notes, usually in a ladder shape.

Learn more about solfege ladders and how to use them.

How do you raise Mi and Ti? – If you do see a sharp on a note you would otherwise call Mi and Ti, you have some mental gymnastics to do.

In this case, call the Mi#, Fa.

Call the Ti#, Do.

How do you lower Do and Fa? – Simply do the opposite of above.

Treat the note like the next one down in line.

For Dob, call it Ti.

For Fab, call it Mi.

Can a natural change the pitch too? – Yes!

This is tricky, but it happens.

If the key already has a flat and you natural it, you’re raising it.

Follow the steps for sharps.

If the key already has a sharp and you natural it, you’re lowering it.

Use the steps for flats.

Conclusion

Now you know a little more about solfege flats and sharps.

These notes may seem scary at first, but they don’t have to be.

Consider if the sharp or flat is a part of the scale already.

If not, then you need to alter the syllable.

You may also want to check out these 8 solfege exercises for musical improvement.