The Sound of Music

Let's start at the very beginning. 
A very good place to start.
When you read you begin with A, B, C.
When you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi. 

Why do I feel the need to continually remind you all that there's a lot I'm missing.  I think when I write about stuff that amazes me, it's with hopes that maybe someone else will step up and say, "Hey!  I didn't know that either."  So far that hasn't happened, yet I continue to divulge my latest revelations, albeit with a bit more fear that you're really beginning to wonder where I've spent the past 46 years.

I was talking to my 12-year-old Italian friend, Anna, about music.  She plays the recorder. I told her that I used to play the clarinet and that I used to be in the high school marching band.  The what?  So, I explained it to her and told her that I had to leave my cheerleading position a little early before half-time to change into the band uniform.  The whole cheerleading thing had come up awhile ago.  She only knows about cheerleaders the way they are portrayed on American TV.   I suppose that's really probably all there is to know about cheerleaders anyway, so I should be glad that she thought it was odd that I was one.

Anyway, the band discussion led to a piano discussion which led to a how-to-read-music discussion.  We both drew staffs and named the notes.  Who knew that the song from The Sound of Music really made sense?  (You all did, I suppose?  Am I really the only nut that didn't know this?)  When Italians sing they really do begin with Do, Re, Mi.  I think that's probably our C, D, E.  But we never really got to the bottom of exactly which note is "Do". And then I started thinking that I had heard of this before.  It wasn't brand new
to me.  I was 45 when my 11-year-old French friend, Flora, used to come to my studio after school.  She'd play her flute for me and I think we had a similar discussion one afternoon. So, I learned it from an 11-year-old and I was reminded of it by a 12-year-old. Is it a European thing or does it go beyond Europe?  Or do other countries use the C, D, E like we do?  Maybe I can find a 13-year-old to answer that.


So, why do music notes have different names in different languages?  And why do we give cities different names in different languages?  Shouldn't Venice always be Venice?  (Actually, I guess what I meant to say is shouldn't Venezia always be Venezia?)  Why would we change the name of a city?  And why would we change the names of notes?  They all sound the same when they're played and they're all in the same place on the staff, so why would we call them something else?  I guess I'm really the one that should have the answer to that since I'm as guilty as the name changers.  When I talk about my friend Mary when I'm in Italy, I call her Maria.  It just came out naturally the first time and then it stuck.  Cathy is Caterina and Sarah is stillSarah, but I pronounce it like "far".  And then one day  someone asked me about my Spanish friend that I often talk about.  I said, "What Spanish friend?"  They said, "Miguel."  I don't have a Spanish friend named Miguel.  It's
an American friend that I unintentionally gave a Spanish name when it should really be Mikele in Italian.  But that's not his name and I've never called him that, so why should I change it?


Anyway, let's get back to the very beginning.  In this case, a very good place to start and to end. I'd written this blog awhile ago, but never really knew what I was trying to say, so I never published it.  Then I was having coffee with some friends (don't worry.  I don't drink coffee, but I do love the tiny little cups) and we were talking about the piano.  I don't remember how it came up, but I can only remember that someone said something about Do, Re, Mi.  I said, "Do you mean C, D, E?" and they had no idea what I was talking about.  So, I proudly explained to them that when we read we begin with A, B, C and when we sing we begin with C, D, E.  I went to bed that night thinking that maybe I'm not missing as much as I think I am.