Qual a origem dos nomes das notas musicais Dó-Ré-Mi-Fá-Sol-Lá e Si em português?

Question

Em português (pelo menos no Brasil), as notas músicais são conhecidas pelos nomes Dó, Ré, Mi, Fá, Sol, Lá e Si. Em inglês, p.ex. são conhecidas pelas letras de A até G, o que parece mais racional.

Qual a origem dos nomes em português das notas musicais?

In portuguese (at least in Brazil) musical notes are known as Dó, Ré, Mi, Fá, Sol, Lá and Si. In english, for instance, they are know by the letters A to G, which seems to be more rational.

What is the origin for the portuguese names of musical notes?

Answer 1

A origem desses nomes para as notas, que são usados em várias línguas (incluindo francês, italiano, russo e grego), remonta à Idade Média. Consta que o italiano Guido d'Arezzo teria criado essa notação com fins didáticos, a partir das primeiras sílabas do canto gregoriano Ut queant laxis, um hino em Latim a São João Batista:

Ut queant laxis
resonare fibris,
Mira gestorum
famuli tuorum,
Solve polluti
labii reatum,
Sancte Iohannes.

O ut em algumas línguas ainda se mantém, mas em outras foi transformado em Do (há controvérsias sobre o motivo exato).

Answer 2

From the solfege notes, created by music theorist Guido of Arezzo in the 11th century. The most accepted theory is that the syllabes themselves come from the Latin hymn Ut queant laxis:

Ut queant laxīs resonāre fībrīs

Mīra gestõrum famulī tuõrum,

Solve pollūtī labiī reātum,

Sancte Iõhannēs.

In the 1600s, Ut was changed to Do. The reason why is controversial - some sources state that it comes from Dominus - Latin for "master, lord". Others (like a page on Wikipedia) state that it was done by Italian musicologist Giovanni Battista Doni, who chose a syllable from his own family name. The fact is the change has stuck until today, probably because because "do" is an open syllable, easier to sing.

Si (allegedly based on the initials for "Sancte Iohannes" - "São João" in Portuguese) was added to complete the diatonic scale (the seven notes).

In countries with "fixed Do solfege", the solfege syllabes are used to represent the notes, instead of the letters A to G. According to Wikipedia, this includes:

Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Belgium, Romania, Latin American countries and in French-speaking Canada as well as countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel where non-Romance languages are spoken.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge#Origin