solfeggio

American  

[sol-fej-oh, -fej-ee-oh] / sɒlˈfɛdʒ oʊ, -ˈfɛdʒ iˌoʊ /

noun

Music.

plural

solfeggi, solfeggios

1. a vocal exercise in which the sol-fa syllables are used.

2. the use of the sol-fa syllables to name or represent the tones of a melody or voice part, or the tones of the scale, or of a particular series, as the scale of C; solmization.

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solfeggio British  

/ sɒlˈfɛdʒɪəʊ, sɒlˈfɛʒ /

noun

1. a voice exercise in which runs, scales, etc, are sung to the same syllable or syllables

2. solmization, esp the French or Italian system, in which the names correspond to the notes of the scale of C major

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Etymology

Origin of solfeggio

1765–75; < Italian, derivative of solfeggiare, equivalent to solf ( a ) ( see sol-fa) + -eggiare v. suffix

Example Sentences

At 4, he knew his solfeggio; at 17, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory of Music; at 21, he won the Conservatory's Prix de Rome, and went there at the French government's expense.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lauretta exerted all her skill and art; she warbled trill after trill like a nightingale, executed sustained notes, then long elaborate roulades—a whole solfeggio.

From Weird Tales. Vol. I by Hoffmann, E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus)

Nightingale trills went warbling up and down; then came long holding-notes; then all kinds of florid passages--a regular solfeggio; even I thought the affair was being kept up too long.

From The Serapion Brethren, Vol. I. by Hoffmann, Ernst Theodor Wilhelm

I am a great believer in the solfeggio.

From Great Singers on the Art of Singing Educational Conferences with Foremost Artists by Cooke, James Francis

The practice of solfeggio gives clearness and accuracy to the ear, and teaches the eye to read with certainty and speed.

From Camilla: A Tale of a Violin Being the Artist Life of Camilla Urso by Barnard, Charles