La

What it means

La is the sixth syllable of solmization. With movable do it designates the sixth degree of the major scale; with fixed do it is an absolute note name and corresponds to English A.

Musical use

In the medieval hexachord, la was the last and highest syllable — the six-note space reached from ut to la. Whoever wanted to go beyond it had to move into another hexachord; this mutation was the central craft of the system.

The syllable plays a particular role in the treatment of minor. Since natural minor contains the same notes as its relative major and begins a minor third lower, it is natural to sing the minor scale from la to la. This practice — widespread in English-language teaching as la-based minor — preserves the relationship to the relative major and makes it audible. The opposing position places do on the tonic of minor and changes the syllables for the third, sixth, and seventh degrees. Both ways are in use; what matters is staying with one within a group.

In the Romance-language world, la is simply the note name for A — and thus at the same time the syllable of the reference pitch to which orchestras tune.

In the hexachord system, la was the topmost of the six syllables. In the relative system, la is the sixth degree of the major scale and at the same time the tonic of the relative minor key; this is why minor begins on la in relative solmization, and one speaks of la-minor. In the fixed system of the Romance countries, la designates the note A, to which the orchestra tunes before every rehearsal and concert. This difference is to be borne in mind when working with teaching material from...

Performance practice

When singing, watch for the semitone between la and ti, or between sol and la, depending on the context — the syllables help only if the semitone positions are thought along with them. Clarify in groups beforehand which minor system applies. And use la as a reference point when tuning, if you work with Romance-language musicians.