Tonic Sol-fa – Basic 1 Cultural & Creative Arts Lesson Note (First Term)

Tonic sol-fa is a way of naming musical notes with simple syllables: doh, ray, me, fah, soh, lah and te. Each note has a letter (d, r, m, f, s, l, t) and a hand sign. Pupils use sol-fa and hand signs to sing songs correctly, such as “The Day is Bright” and the simple scale.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• name the seven sol-fa notes
• say which place “soh” holds among the notes
• sing the simple scale d, r, m, f, s, l, t, d
• sing “The Day is Bright” with sol-fa and hand signs
• show the hand signs for doh, ray and me

What are the sol-fa notes?

There are seven sol-fa notes. Remember them in this order:

• d (doh)
• r (ray)
• m (me)
• f (fah)
• s (soh)
• l (lah)
• t (te)

How do we learn to sing with sol-fa?

Song 1: “The Day is Bright”

Use hand signs and sol-fa:

d d m m | s s m
The day is bright is bright

m m r r | d – –
A happy day of joy

Practice steps

1. Say the sol-fa notes: d, d, m, m, s, s, m.
2. Sing the sol-fa with the tune.
3. Add the words: “The day is bright”.
4. Repeat many times.

What are the hand signs for sol-fa?

• Doh: hand at waist level, fist closed
• Ray: hand at stomach, fingers pointing down
• Me: hand at chest, flat palm
• Fah: hand at shoulder, thumb down
• Soh: hand at mouth level, flat palm
• Lah: hand at forehead
• Te: hand above head

Song 2: how do we sing the simple scale?

d r m f s l t d
Doh ray me fah soh lah te doh

Practice tips

• Sing slowly first.
• Use hand signs.
• Repeat many times.
• Sing with friends.
• Make it fun.

Evaluation

Choose the correct answer.

1. The first sol-fa note is _____.
   • a) ray
   • b) doh
   • c) me
2. Sol-fa helps us _____.
   • a) cook
   • b) sing correctly
   • c) sleep
3. How many sol-fa notes are there?
   • a) 5
   • b) 7
   • c) 10
4. “Soh” is the _____ note.
   • a) first
   • b) third
   • c) fifth
5. We use _____ signs when singing sol-fa.
   • a) hand
   • b) foot
   • c) head

Assignment

1. Practise singing: d, r, m, f, s, l, t, d.
2. Sing “The Day is Bright” with sol-fa notes.
3. Learn the hand signs for doh, ray and me.
4. Teach someone at home one sol-fa note.