Aretinian Syllables
Preserved but no longer current.
Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, used by Guido d'Arezzo in the llth century for his hexachord, or scale of six notes. They are the first syllables of some words in the opening stanza of a hymn for St. John's Day (see DOH). Si, the seventh note, was not introduced till the "17th century.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Aretinian Syllables” mean?
Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, used by Guido d'Arezzo in the llth century for his hexachord, or scale of six notes. They are the first syllables of some words in the opening stanza of a hymn for St. John's Day (see DOH). Si, the seventh note, was not introduced till the "17th century.
Is “Aretinian Syllables” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.