Alternative Solmization

This post explores some of the alternative methods of solmization that emerged from the Guidonian hexachordal system in Germany and Belgium from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. While none of these systems is currently widely used, each had strong contemporary proponents on a local scale, and each provided a different solution to the issues faced by singers in dealing with hexachordal mutation by adding a seventh and/or eighth scale degree to the solmization format. Issues with the Hexachord The Guidonian system of solmization was based on the hexachordal syllables ut, re, mi, fa, so, and la , in which the starting pitch of ut could be shifted to various pitches so as to accommodate the entire gamut. The natural hexachord was built on C as ut; the hard hexachord, on G as ut ; and the soft hexachord, on F as ut. These latter two were so named due to the quality of the B encompassed in the hexachord-- either the "hard" or "square" (natural) b-quadro  or the