Fa

What it means

Fa is the fourth syllable of solmization and in movable Do designates the fourth degree of the key — the note a fourth above the root. In fixed Do it is an absolute note name and corresponds to the German f, that is, F.

Musical use

The syllable owes its special position to the semitone: between mi and fa there lies in every hexachord and in every major scale a semitone step. That was the actual purpose of the medieval system — the syllables say where the semitone lies, and whoever sings mi–fa sings a semitone, regardless of the pitch. From this property also comes the old rule of thumb according to which “mi against fa” yields the undesired tritone, which was avoided in the practice of musica ficta.

Harmonically the fourth degree carries the subdominant. Melodically fa falls toward mi — the semitone acts downward, just as the leading tone ti strives upward to do. These two semitones are the points of tension of the major scale, and in the cadence both resolve at the same time: in the dominant seventh chord, ti and fa form the tritone, which moves outward or inward.

The syllable is raised to a form of its own when the fourth degree is chromatically raised — for instance in the Lydian sound or with the secondary dominant of the dominant.

In the hexachord system of the Middle Ages, Fa was the syllable above the semitone step mi–fa, the only place in the hexachord with a semitone. From this arose the rule of thumb mi contra fa, which warned against the sounding together of mi and fa at a tritone's distance. In the solmization of the Kodály method, Fa is represented by a thumb pointing downward. In the absolute system of the Romance-language countries, Fa designates the note F.

Performance practice

Sing the step mi–fa deliberately as a semitone and take it close. Take care that fa pulls downward and is not treated as a point of rest. And use the syllables when working up melodies — they show you the semitone places immediately.