Text: A system of singing; a composition in which the names of the notes are employed instead of the words to which it may be set. Formerly only four of the seven names of the notes ­ Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, were used, namely Mi, Fa, Sol, La. These were applied to every note in the scale, on the principle that it is naturally divided into two halves of similar proportions. In the scale of C, from Fa to Sol and from Sol to La are each a tone apart, and from Mi to Fa only a semitone; all tones in the scale were distinquished by these names for the purpose of Sol-faing. Mi was always used for the leading, or master note. This series, repeated to any extent, was supposed to express all the different tones and semitones in the diatonic scale.

See Also:

Source: 125