What, you may ask, is the solfa scale (also known as the solfeggio scale)? Quite simply, it is a series of seven syllables used as a teaching aid in which each note is sung to a different syllable. These syllables are known quite commonly as do, re, mi, fa, so, la, and ti. These syllables became popular in the movie "Sound of Music" with the Do, Re Mi song.

The purpose of this article is to go beyond the superficial and delve into the origin of the syllables and the intents hidden within each one. Many books and articles have been written about the power of intent and the affect it has on our lives. The intents within the solfa syllables are very profound and have been sung unknowingly into the cosmic consciousness for hundreds of years. To grasp the magnitude of the intents it is necessary to uncover the history of certain individuals; namely, St. Gregory the Great, Paul the Deacon, and Guido d'Arezzo.

St. Gregory the Great became Pope Gregory and lived from 540 A.D. until 604 A.D. One of his many accomplishments was to establish a school for singing and to develop a new way of chanting which today we call "Gregorian Chants." The chants were sung by the monks and used as a tool for focusing the mind and the body. It was believed that the chants had healing qualities.

The next individual to recognize is Paulus Diaconus who is also know as Paul the Deacon. He lived from around 720 A.D. until around 799 A.D. Paulus was a monk and an historian. Being a monk, he was acquainted with the work of Pope Gregory and mentions him in his writings. The latin hymm "Ut Queant Laxis" is believed to have been composed by Paulus on a day he was contemplating the restoration of the voice of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and was written in honor of John the Baptist.

The final individual we will look at is Guido Aretinus who is also known as Guido d'Arezzo. He lived from around 995 A.D. until around 1050 A.D. He was a Benedictine monk and music theorist and he is the author of much of our modern day music notation. It was he who developed the solfa or solfeggio scale as an aid to help singers learn Gregorian chants more readily. He used the Gregorian chant "Ut Queant Laxis" written by Paulus Diaconus for developing the solfa syllables. He took the first stanza and divided each line in half. He then used the first syllable of each half line to create the solfa syllables. The ancient solfa scale contained only six syllables. The syllables were: ut, re, mi, fa, sol, and la. These original syllables have evolved into the ones used by modern day society as noted previously.

With an understanding of the origin of the solfa syllables we can now focus on the intents hidden within each one. The first stanza of the chant "Ut Queant Laxis," with the solfa syllables written in uppercase letters, is as follows: UT queant laxis REsonare fibris. MIra gestorum FAmuli tuorum. SOLve polluti LAbii reatum. Sancte Iohannes. Please note that the words Sancte Iohannes are a study all by themselves and will only be mentioned briefly in this article.

The literal translation is: In order that the slaves might resonate(resound) the miracles (wonders) of your creations with loosened (expanded) vocal chords. Wash the guilt from (our) polluted lip. Saint John. However, using a Latin dictionary, the translation can be expanded and enlarged upon.

The expanded translation is: We, as prisoners, are crying out for release from our spoken expression of limited consciousness so that we might resonate with your expanded creative vibrations. St. John.

And, finally, painstaking research into the origin and meaning of the original words, yields the enlarged translation: The Divine Mind needs an unconfined and freely moving relationship with us that will resonate our speech, or the very fiber of our being, to produce a miracle of communication, which will solve, dissolve, and release the restrictions of our speech. St. John.

Exactly what are the intents that singers have unknowingly been broadcasting into the cosmic waves every time they practice their vocals using these syllables? A breakdown of the intents and a short definition of each original word is as follows: Ut -- preparatory tone to prepare the body, soul, and spirit to receive the intent of the next five tones (in order to receive); Re -- tone to begin resonance with the Divine (resound or balance frequencies); Mi -- tone to begin remarkable and extraordinary changes (miracles); Fa -- tone to seek out limitations imposed upon us (slaves to mindsets); Sol -- tone to loosen, release, unbind, untie, open, free (solve, resolve); La -- tone to open the vocal chords (release the lips).

In closing, you may ask, "What about the seventh syllable and intent?" As you may have guessed, it was created later from the final words in the first stanza, Sancte Iohannes. Originally it was "Si" and later changed to "Ti." It also has a hidden intent based upon its translation. Without going into an elaborate explanation, the enlarged translation is: Divine favor allows me to discard my limited thoughts and mindsets so that I now exist in this physical body in a state of eternal peace.

The Divine or Cosmic or Christ Mind or whatever you choose to call it, has anchored these intents within the cosmic grid. These intents are reinforced daily by singers and, subconsciously, we are all partakers of the Divine Wisdom that inspired the solfa syllables.