Si

What it means

Si is the seventh syllable of solmization. It did not belong to the original stock but was added only when the medieval hexachord system with its six syllables was converted to the seven-degree octave. With fixed do it is an absolute note name and corresponds to German H — not to German B, which is there called si bemolle or si bémol.

Musical use

In the Romance-language world, si is the common name for this note, and that is the most important information when translating: a key indication si minore means B minor, si bemolle maggiore means B♭ major.

In English-speaking ear training the syllable was replaced by ti, so that every degree begins with its own initial letter — si and sol would otherwise have shared the same one, which is inconvenient with the abbreviated writing of the solmization syllables. In German-language teaching, both forms are encountered.

In substance, with movable do the syllable designates the seventh degree of the major scale, that is, the leading tone, which lies a semitone below the tonic and presses upward. In minor this degree is naturally a whole tone away and is specially raised for the cadence; solmization accordingly knows different syllable forms for this.

The syllable arose in the sixteenth century, when the six syllables of the hexachord were supplemented by a seventh.

Other names

In the English-language tonic sol-fa method, the seventh syllable is called Ti instead of Si. The change dates from the nineteenth century and was meant to avoid two syllables beginning with the same letter (Sol and Si), which would be disruptive with abbreviations using initial letters. In the relative system, the syllable is the leading tone, which strives a semitone upward to do.

Performance practice

When working with Romance-language sources, watch the correspondence si equals H. Sing the degree closely up to the tonic when it has a leading-tone character. And clarify, in mixed groups, whether si or ti is used — both mean the same thing.