The Complete Guide to Solfege for Elementary Music TeachersDo, Re, Mi, and all their friends have been around for the past 1,000 years for a reason: they’re among the most powerful tools for music educators at any level when it comes to developing the inner ear.

The power isn’t in the words themselves—though these syllables are used around the world, creating a kind of universal musical language—it’s in the sound concept. With solfege, we label pitch relationships and build students’ abilities to:

Sing in tune

Read music

Sight-read

Transpose

Improvise more creatively

…and much more!

In this complete guide to solfege for elementary music teachers, you’ll find a solid foundation of what solfege is, how it works, how to use it in your classroom, and practical ideas for developing students’ musical literacy and independence. Let’s get singing!

What Is Solfege?

Solfege is a syllable system that helps musicians connect their understanding of pitch relationships with sound and language.

In short, it’s a tool for singing and reading pitches in music. The commonly used syllables are: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti.

The system dates back to the 11th century and a monk named Guido d’Arezzo. As the one responsible for preparing singers for mass and other services, he needed a faster way to teach reading and singing. From that challenge, solfege was born.

The original syllables came from the first syllable of each line of a Latin hymn: ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la.

Yes, you read that right—“ut” was the starting pitch. (Not exactly the most singable, right?) It was later replaced with “do.”

You’ll also notice the absence of “ti” in the original system. It wasn’t because Guido preferred coffee (pun intended). At the time, people believed the tritone (the augmented fourth) invoked the devil. Leaving out the seventh scale degree meant avoiding any risk of demonic possession.

Eventually, musicians overcame that superstition and added the syllable “si” for the leading tone. But this created confusion with “sol.” To resolve it, most teachers now use “ti” instead—a practice so common you’d be hard-pressed to find a music educator who doesn’t!

Fixed Do Vs. Movable Do In Solfege

There are two main solfege systems: movable do and fixed do. 

Fixed do is a syllable replacement system. In this system, you use the syllables as a straight-up, 1-to-1 replacement for the common pitch letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. 

In this system, the following syllables are exchanged for the letters:

Letter PitchFixed Do – Soflege EquivalentCDoDReEMiFFaGSol / SoALaBTi

Movable Do is a relative pitch system where the note Do changes to match the tonic scale degree of whatever key you’re in. For example, if you’re in the key of D major, then D becomes Do, E becomes Re, F# becomes Mi, and so on. 

This system is used by the majority of music teachers as it emphasizes the intervallic (interval) relationship of the pitches and helps singers and instrumentalists more accurately place their notes from only a starting pitch. 

In the elementary music world, movable do is much more practical as you’ll be able to switch keys with any of your songs without needing to worry about students learning new syllables or mixing up all the chromatic and altered pitch nonsense. 

Benefits of Teaching Solfege to Elementary Students

Teaching music to young children can sometimes feel overwhelming, but solfege offers a clear, engaging framework that makes music accessible and fun. By giving students a simple set of syllables tied to pitches, solfege turns an abstract concept into something concrete they can see, hear, and feel.

One of the biggest benefits of solfege is how it builds pitch accuracy and inner hearing. When children sing do, re, mi, they aren’t just memorizing notes—they’re learning how to audiate, or “hear the music inside their head.” This skill forms the foundation for strong musicianship later in life.

Solfege also strengthens music literacy. Instead of treating notes on a staff as random dots, students connect symbols to syllables and sounds. This bridges the gap between singing and reading, making it easier to progress into sight-singing and instrumental playing.

For younger students especially, solfege pairs perfectly with movement and visuals:

Hand signs that show pitch direction.

Floor ladders or posters that represent steps.

Games and call-and-response activities that get the whole body moving.

These tools support different learning styles and keep children engaged.

Finally, solfege encourages confidence and participation. Because every child can use their own voice, it levels the playing field in the classroom. Instead of worrying about “getting it wrong,” students join together in singing, which promotes teamwork and joy.

It’s not just about teaching notes—it’s about giving young learners a lifelong tool for listening, singing, and creating music with confidence.

Common Tools And Visuals For Teaching Solfege

Solfege is powerful because it’s not just about singing syllables—it’s about connecting sound, sight, and movement in ways that help students internalize music. Elementary students, especially, thrive when they have concrete, hands-on tools to make abstract concepts feel real. 

Curwen Hand Signs (Kodály Influence)

One of the most recognizable solfege tools is the set of Kodály-inspired Curwen hand signs. Each solfege syllable is paired with a specific hand position held at a specific level of your body, showing direction (high vs. low) and creating a visual memory for students.

Hand signs allow students to see the pitch contour.

They encourage active participation—everyone can join in, even without instruments.

They work beautifully for warm-ups, transitions, or full lessons.

It can be used without singing for inner hearing / audiation practice.

Solfege Ladders and Visuals

Younger learners often need something tangible to help them “see” pitch movement. Solfege ladders, posters, or wall displays give them a roadmap for where pitches sit in relation to one another. Some people will also use a Music Street Story with houses on a hill to visually show how the solfa fit together. 

Large classroom displays make it easy to reference during group singing.

Floor ladders or interactive charts can turn solfege practice into a fun, physical game.

Printable versions allow for individual or small-group practice.

Try pointing at the visual without saying a word to see if your students can sing on their own!

Color-Coding and Manipulatives

Many teachers add an extra layer of clarity by using colors to represent pitches. Pairing solfege with manipulatives helps kids engage multiple senses at once. 

America has a forgotten tradition of using shape notes to show which pitch belongs to which syllable. It’s a hangover from when few could read well and even fewer could read music. Flat.io has a font for using these shape notes AND the color-coding system. 

Examples include:

Boomwhackers or handbells color-matched to specific syllables.

Flashcards that pair syllables with colors and notes.

Magnetic boards where students can arrange pitches in order.

*This strategy is especially useful for visual learners and for keeping activities playful.

Body Movement and Kinesthetic Learning

For many children, music clicks when their whole body is involved. Using movement not only keeps lessons lively but also helps students internalize the physical “shape” of the scale.

Ways to integrate kinesthetic learning include:

Jumping or stepping on the floor to represent pitch direction.

Using scarves or arm movements to trace pitch contour.

Assigning different parts of the body to specific solfege syllables.

This is a powerful tool for wiggly, high-energy classes, and it helps reinforce memory through muscle movement.

With your younger kids, try the body solfege method. Use large motor movements instead of hand signs: 

SolfegeBody MovementDoHands on lapReHands on hipsMiArms across your bodyFaHands by your mouthSolHands on your headLaHands making “large eyebrows” just above your headTiHands pointing straight up

3 Steps For Teaching Solfege To Beginners

It’s no secret if you know anything about me that I’m a big fan of the Kodaly approach for introducing concepts. The Prepare-Present-Practice model (PPP) makes perfect sense to me, and it follows both the research into how we learn and how we learn to read. 

It’s all based on the idea of sound before symbol. We want to have students explore and build an understanding of the sound concept (rhythm or pitch) BEFORE we label them. 

Think about it like this: it’s easier to build a correct habit than it is to unlearn a bad one (and then RELEARN the correct one). 

For this reason, we approach and build an understanding (Prepare) first, then label the concept with the syllable/solfege and visual/staff (Present), and then further develop skills with scaffolding practice (Practice). 

Prepare

During the prepare phase we are exploring a specific pitch or solfege concept kinesthetically, aurally, and visually. We usually use neutral syllables and general body motions to prepare the correct concept. We’ll also use visual icons rather than actual staff to show intervals as well. (More on all this later…)

Present

Once students have a firm grasp on the idea of the pitch, we label it with the correct solfa, the hand sign (if using them), and then how the pitch fits on the staff in relation to the other solfege pitches. This last doesn’t always have to be on the same day, often, it’s later. 

Practice

After labeled, we practice echoing, decoding, writing, reading, audiating (inner hearing), arranging, composing, and improvising with the solfege using known songs and patterns as well as unknown ones. 

9 Classroom Activities & Games For Teaching Solfege In Elementary Music

There are an almost-infinite number of games and activities to help learn solfege pitches in the elementary music classroom. But here are just a few of my favorites: 

#1 Show Body Levels

Get a bank of 5-7 patterns using the solfege you want to teach ready. Have these where you can see them (the students will be responding aurally). Sing a pattern and while you do so, choose a body movement to follow the contour of the pattern. 

For example, if you’re practicing Mi-Re-Do, specifically, you might choose to do stomp for Do, pat for Re, and tap head for Mi. Have the students echo you while singing the patterns. 

Note: If you’re in the Prepare step of the solfege, you’ll want to use a neutral syllable or replacement word for the targeted solfa until they’ve got it down. 

After you go through all of your patterns, ask students for their ideas. Explain (or even better, use questions) that each movement was a low, middle, and high level for each pitch. Give students a chance to pick a motion, and then echo through all of the patterns again! Rinse and repeat! 

#2 Sing From Pictures

Take some pictures and arrange them at different levels to make patterns using the solfege you’d like to work on. Make sure to tell your students which one it starts on and hum the pitch for them before they sing. 

Create a bank of 5-7 of these patterns. I’m not super cutesy with the pictures, but I do like to connect it with a song they’re working on. Here’s a simple example of a sol-mi pattern I made in Google Slide. The song it’s related to is Star light, star bright. 

Have them go through the bank of patterns and sing each one. If you’re at the point where you’re using real syllables and hand signs, go for it. If not, have them use their neutral syllable (like “doo” or “bum”) and just point at the images. 

#3 Puzzle Patterns

Once again, create a bank of 5-7 pitch patterns using the solfege you want to practice. (Sensing a pattern here?) Print them off on sets of cards where the pattern is on one side and the answer is on the other. Laminate them if you want them to last. 

Split students up into groups of 2-5 (your choice). Explain that one student will have the card and quiz the others on how it should be sung. Encourage the use of solfege hand signs. Once one is done, pass the cards to the next leader, shuffle them up, and start over. You should circulate to check for work and help groups as needed. 

#4 Sing Only One Pitch

This is one of my favorites! You can do this with any song or set of solfege patterns you like! BUT the students need to be able to read and sing as a group pretty fluidly. 

Display the solfege for a song or set of patterns and sing through it all together. Now, the students must sing through it but ONLY sing one of the pitches. For the rest, they must show the hand sign and sing it inside their head. This audiating really helps to build pitch retention as well of the sense of unheard steady beat. 

Rotate through all the pitches the song uses! As kids get older, this becomes harder and harder (but sometimes that makes it more fun!). 

#5 Guess The Mystery Song

Easy version: Display the solfege to a known song. Have students sing through the solfege and then try to guess which song it is. 

Medium Version: Display the solfege to a song, but written backwards. Sing through it forwards and then backwards. Ask which one was a known song and which song it is. 

Hard Version: Display the solfege to a known song. Give them the starting pitch and ask them to sign it but not sing it. Ask them what the mystery song is. 

Super hard version: Show a solfege ladder or music street image. Sing the first pitch, then point at the pitches of the known song. Ask them which song it is. 

#6 Solfege Hop Scotch

I forgot about this activity until I started writing this article. I haven’t done it in a while because it requires some prep work and/or a floor that doesn’t force plates or papers to slide everywhere (mine does!). 

Go create a long hop scotch-style pattern either using chalk on an outside sidewalk or using paper plates on your floor. On each square or plate, write a solfege pitch. I like to start and end with Do. Students form a line and must choose which pitches they’ll jump on or skip. As they jump through it, they need to sing the pitches.

#7 Double Solfege Hand Sign Challenge

Students sing and match the hand signs you show them. They do this while you show the signs, not echo. Do this as a whole group for a while (moving slowly). 

Then, split the class in two. You show hand signs with both hands, but now your hands aren’t doing the same hand sign. Move only one hand at a time (for your sake and theirs). This is wonderful for developing part-work skills AND forcing singers to become more independent in their singing. 

Want more part-work? Check out these 10 solfege rounds!

#8 Memorize The Patterns

Show a song or group of patterns. Make sure the notes are split up into measures. Have the class sing the entire song or group of patterns. 

Now, each time you do it, erase one more measure. Eventually, they’ll have to perform the entire pattern from memory! 

#9 Boomwhacker Whackiness

Split your students up into groups matching the number of pitches you’ll use for this activity. For example, if you’re using Do, Re, Mi, Sol, and La, each group will be five people. Now, have them each get a boomwhacker matching the pitch (in this case, we’ll be sticking with Do=C). 

Sing a pattern using solfege (or on a neutral syllable for a challenge). The group must then figure out how to play the pattern using their boomwhackers while singing the solfege. When they’ve got it, they must perform for you. 

This can also be done with patterns written on cards or students composing their own patterns for a whole other level. Additionally, I also love using hand bells for this purpose—although everyone playing at the same time gets a little crazy! 

Get Your Students Singing!

Hopefully, I’ve given you a bit of a start on using solfege in your classroom. It’s a useful tool with almost limitless potential to better build students’ pitch awareness, singing ability, and reading fluency. Let me know if you have any questions! 

Keep on singing!