Scale Degrees and Solfège

So far the notes of a scale have been called “the first degree,” “the fifth degree,” and so on. Each of them also has a proper name, and those names describe a role rather than a position in a list.

Names of the seven degrees

Degree	Name	Where the name comes from
1	tonic	the center of the key
2	supertonic	immediately above the tonic
3	mediant	midway between tonic and dominant
4	subdominant	a fifth below the tonic
5	dominant	a fifth above the tonic
6	submediant	midway between tonic and subdominant
7	leading tone	it leads into the tonic

The names come from relationships of a fifth

There is a consistent logic behind the terminology, and it is a network of fifths around the tonic.

• the dominant (degree 5) is a perfect 5th above the tonic
• the subdominant (degree 4) is a perfect 5th below the tonic

With C as tonic, a fifth up is G and a fifth down is F. F also happens to be a fourth above C, which puts it at degree 4, but its name records the downward-fifth relationship. It is not called the subdominant because it is the fourth degree; it is called that because it is the dominant on the other side of the tonic.

The same logic explains the two remaining names:

• the mediant (degree 3) is midway between tonic and dominant
• the submediant (degree 6) is midway between tonic and subdominant

So the whole naming system works by erecting three pillars — tonic, dominant, subdominant — and then filling in between them. And those three pillars are precisely the names of the three harmonic functions that the next unit is built on. The vocabulary of scale degrees has been quietly announcing the structure of harmony all along.

Hearing tonic, dominant, and subdominant

▶Tonic → dominant (fifth up)▶Tonic → subdominant▶The three pillars

Check: First the tonic C up to the dominant G, a fifth above. Then the tonic to the subdominant F, which is the note a fifth below folded back into the octave. Then all three together. Listen for the way G and F sit symmetrically on either side of C.

Check

What is the dominant of G major?

F#CDE

Check answer

Leading tone versus subtonic

The seventh degree needs care, because its name depends on how far it is from the tonic.

• a half step below the tonic → leading tone
• a whole step below the tonic → subtonic

In a major scale the seventh degree is a half step below the tonic, so it is a leading tone. In natural minor it is a whole step away, so it is not called a leading tone. It is the subtonic.

An earlier lesson said that minor keys raise the seventh degree because they lack a leading tone. More precisely, they raise the subtonic in order to convert it into a leading tone. The change of name tracks the change of harmonic function exactly.

Subtonic against leading tone

▶Subtonic → tonic (whole step)▶Leading tone → tonic (half step)

Check: First, the natural minor seventh degree moving to the tonic — a whole step, and the arrival feels tentative. Then the raised seventh doing the same thing across a half step, where the pull is unmistakable and the landing is definite. The two names correspond to those two sensations.

A natural minor

Solfège — movable do and fixed do

Degree names are the vocabulary for talking about theory. For singing, a different tool is used: solfège syllables.

Two schools exist.

Movable do

The tonic is always sung as do.

• in C major, C = do
• in G major, G = do, A = re, B = mi
• in E-flat major, E♭ = do

The advantage is direct. Singing “mi” always means the third degree; “sol” always means the dominant. In other words, the syllable is welded to the function. Because the same syllables denote the same roles no matter the key, the structure of a melody settles into the ear and the voice.

For minor keys there are two conventions: singing the tonic as la, which keeps the syllables aligned with the relative major, and singing it as do. The la-based approach is the more common one in the Kodály tradition and in much English-language pedagogy.

Fixed do

Syllables map one to one onto letter names. C is always do and D is always re, whatever the key.

Its advantage is that it is welded to the instrument instead. On a piano, “do” is always the same key, so there is nothing to recompute when practicing. It is also considered a better fit for absolute-pitch training, and it is standard in French, Italian, and Spanish conservatory training, where the syllables simply are the note names.

Which one to use

They are not rivals so much as tools with different jobs.

System	What it is good for
Movable do	hearing melodic function, dictation, transposition, understanding harmony
Fixed do	instrumental fingering, sight-reading speed, absolute pitch

For the harmony and dictation covered in this curriculum, movable do is the better fit. The rule “the leading tone resolves to the tonic by a half step” becomes a physical sensation — ti to do — when you sing it in movable do. In fixed do the syllables change with every key, which hides the very thing that stays constant.

Hearing function through movable do

▶do–mi–sol–do in C major▶do–mi–sol–do in G major▶ti→do in G major

Check: The first two are do–mi–sol–do in C major and in G major. The pitches are entirely different; in movable do the syllables are identical. The third is ti–do in G major — leading tone to tonic — which carries the same syllables and the same function in any key.

C E G C

Check

In movable do, which note is sol in E-flat major?

EbCGBb

Check answer

Degrees become the parts list for chords

One last note on where this leads.

Once the degrees have names, chords can be described in terms of degrees. Stack degrees 1, 3, and 5 and you have the tonic chord; stack 5, 7, and 2 and you have the dominant chord. Describing them by degree rather than by letter (C–E–G, G–B–D) means the same words work in every key.

That is the idea behind the Roman numerals introduced in Unit 3. Roman numeral analysis is chord notation built on scale degrees, and it is a direct extension of the “degree equals role” thinking established here.

▶ Check the degrees in the scale dictionary Bring up G major and confirm on the keyboard that the fifth degree (dominant) is D and the seventh (leading tone) is F♯ Scale Dictionary → ▶ See which degrees work over which chord Choosing a chord highlights its chord tones alongside the rest of the scale. It is a preview of how degrees and chords relate Melody Note Guide →