Hi, sorry if this topic has already been posted — I haven’t seen one about it, but if there is, feel free to redirect me and I’ll close this one.
I’m having trouble studying music theory. I’m not particularly good at it, but I don’t want to just practice tabs over and over without understanding what I’m doing, so I intend to study it more thoroughly.
I’d really like to hear what people here think, students and teachers, on whether I (a Spanish speaker) should study music theory using the Anglo-American system (C, D, E…) or stick to the Latin one (Do, Re, Mi…). Sometimes it’s really hard for me to do the mental translation between whether what I’m looking at is a D or an E, and it slows me down a lot.
I know there are way more courses and resources available in English than in Spanish. But I’m not sure if it’s worth the effort to study everything in English right away — or if, since music already feels a bit hard for me, I should stick with the Latin system first, and later move on to the English one once I’m more confident with the theory in my native language.
I’m having the same problem with the fretboard — I’m trying to memorize it using English note names, but I’m not sure if that’s slowing me down more than if I learned it in Latin. So it’s really the same question: should I continue in English, or stick to Latin for now?
Thanks, everyone!
P.S. I’m looking for printable triad PDFs to help with memorization. I only have the 4 that Josh uploaded to the forum. Does anyone know a good place to find some printable PDFs (without violating copyright) to practice with?
Here’s my personal opinion, based on living and working all over the world. Being bilingual or multilingual is a HUGE advantage to being successful. For better or worse, the English system is by far the most prevalent. Most of the teaching and study aids I come across use the English system. I highly suggest sticking with it until you master it. It will serve you well for a lifetime.
I don’t know what would be better for you, to stick to the Latin (do, re, mi) or switch to A B C D… But I think it would be useful to know both, because so many resources in the net are in English, so many YouTube videos have tabs in English, and if you spend time talking to other musicians from other countries in forums like here, or decide to take courses in English, it will be confusing if you don’t understand the notes as alphabet letters.
But I think it won’t be too difficult to learn. You could practice the scales, like C major scale, listening and speaking the names of the notes as letters, and you will soon get used to it. It will take some time, but with practice and repetition you will get there.
I learned solfege the way most Americans do, by being forced to watch The Sound of Music every year at the holidays. In school, it was always the standard notation. We did also do it for one year in grade school IIRC.
Thanks everyone! After reading your thoughts, it seems like it might actually be worth sticking with the Anglo-American system. It’s still a bit hard for me, because with the Latin one I obviously don’t have to think, it just comes naturally. But I guess with enough practice, the same will happen with this system too. My main concern was that it might slow me down or make things harder, since music is not something I’m super confident with yet.
By the way, if I remember correctly, Ut was the old name for Do (C), before it was changed to the current one. I can’t remember the reason why, though.
Without knowing how much musical learning background you have, if this is all new to you in either language, I would suggest starting worh the English version, just because that seems to be more prevalent in teaching materials.
I don’t think the do re mi solflage system and the A B C note system are alternatives, but rather do different things. My understanding is that “do” in the solflage (do re mi) system is just the root note of whatever key the piece is in. So “do” would be C only in the key of C, but in the key of D, “do” would be D.
That is true in the “English” system, which is also called “moveable Do”.
In the “Latin” system–also known as “Fixed Do”–“Do” does not move. “Do” is always C, no matter what key you are in. They don’t use A-G like movable do does.
Mi No Read So Fa.
Genuinely, I didn’t know the Latin version existed outside of The Sound Of Music as a way of teaching music. I just thought it was an audible way of learning the note sounds. I stand corrected!
I am french speaking from Quebec, and learned flute and piano with the latin notes when I was young. I am trying really hard to learn the letters now (some decades latter!!!) but I find it really hard wheras the latin notes were automatic for me. I have been trying since january 2025, I still find it really hard… but I am not very disciplined😆.
Deberías pedir la opinión de bajistas latinoamericanos especialmente bajistas famosos en Youtube. O apúntate a una escuela de música inglesa para aprender las bases completamente.
