Solfege hand signs for kids, with a chart to print

Solfege is a way of singing the notes of a scale with the syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti. Each syllable has a hand sign. The singer makes the sign while singing the note and moves the hand higher as the notes go up. The signs let a child see and feel the distance between notes.

Print the solfege hand signs chart to keep the order in view.

The seven signs

Syllable	Step of the scale	Hand shape	Where to hold it
Do	1	A loose fist	At the waist
Re	2	A flat hand that slants up	Above the waist
Mi	3	A flat hand, level, palm down	At the chest
Fa	4	A fist with the thumb pointing down	At the shoulders
Sol	5	A flat hand on its edge, palm toward you	At the chin
La	6	A hand that hangs down from the wrist	At the eyes
Ti	7	A fist with the pointer finger aimed up at a slant	At the forehead
Do	8	A loose fist	Above the forehead

Some teachers spell the fifth step “so.” The sign is the same.

The heights are a guide. What matters is that each note sits a little higher than the one before.

Why the shapes look the way they do

The shapes hint at how each note behaves. Do is a fist because it is the home note, firm and settled. Fa points down because it leans toward mi, the note just below it. Ti points up because it pulls toward do, the note just above.

A child does not need to know this to use the signs. Over time, the hand teaches it.

Where the signs came from

An English minister named John Curwen published the hand signs in the 1800s. He built on the work of Sarah Glover, a teacher in Norwich who had worked out a way to teach singing with syllables. In the 1900s, teachers in Hungary who followed the composer Zoltán Kodály took up the signs, and they spread around the world with his approach. Read more in the Kodály method explained.

Movable do and fixed do

In most schools that use hand signs, do is the home note of whatever key the song is in. This is called movable do. A song in C starts its scale on C, and a song in G starts its scale on G, and both scales are sung do, re, mi.

In some countries, do always means the note C. This is called fixed do. If your child’s teacher uses solfege, ask which kind.

How to teach the signs at home

Start with two notes. Sol and mi are the two notes of the call children use to tease or to call a friend across a yard. Sing “sol, mi, sol, mi” and make the signs. Sing your child’s name on the two notes.

Add la. Many playground chants use sol, mi, and la. Try “Rain, Rain, Go Away.”

Add do and re. Now sign “Hot Cross Buns,” which uses mi, re, and do. Then try the first line of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” which uses the same three notes.

Climb the whole ladder. Once the five notes are easy, add fa and ti and sing up and down the scale.

Games to play

Echo. Sing and sign a pattern of three or four notes. Your child sings and signs it back.

Silent signs. Sign a short pattern without singing. Your child sings what you signed.

Point and sing. Point to steps on the printed chart, one at a time, and have your child sing each one.

Mystery song. Sign the start of a song your child knows, slow and clear. Can they name it?

Two hands. One person signs with each hand, holding two different notes. Two children sing one note each. This is a first taste of singing in harmony.

How it helps with an instrument

A child who can sing do, mi, and sol in tune can hear a chord. A child who feels ti pulling up to do can hear when a scale is finished. These habits of the ear carry over to the piano, the violin, and any other instrument, and they help with the ear tests in music exams.

For the rhythm side of the same approach, read rhythm names: ta and ti-ti. For other ways of teaching music, see the guide to teaching methods.