On April 30, 2002, as part of the “So glad you asked” portion of the CBC radio programme “In Performance”, I had a longish chat with host Eric Friesen on the subject of solfege, solfa, or “do-re-mi”, as it is variously known. Our talk was in response to the following letter:
“What is Solfege & why do some professional musicians feel 800% passionately for & against it? On the internet viola discussion group there’s sometimes strong arguing for & against use/training of Solfege. These are professional musicians, some also professors (I’m only amateur), so I like to respect their opinions, but boy do they disagree about Solfege. Those against seem to think it actually damages people musically – make children learn it, & any musical career they might have had is ruined. “Proof” is attempted offered both for & against.Whew! What’s it all about, really?”