The Beauty of Movable DO

Once we learn how to read patterns in one DO-signature, the same patterns can be put in a different place, and the relationship between pitches will remain constant. The only thing that will change is where DO is. Once you understand and internalize this concept, music reading becomes a lot easier.

The letters of the musical alphabet answer the question, “Which DO?” Since DO is movable, we need to distinguish between DO-signatures. Letters help us do that. Think of them like proper nouns vs. common nouns: Which boy? Todd.

FPIFO in Eb-DO

This DO-signature tells us that DO is on the first line, rather than on the first space. This pitch is called Eb, so we will call this Eb-DO.

Below are our vertical and horizontal realizations of tonic and dominant chords in Eb-DO. They look pretty similar to F-DO, now don’t they?

Reading Patterns

Watch the video above and follow the verbal instructions. Below is the familiar pattern set in Eb-DO for your reference. 

FPIFO in Eb-DO