Curio

State Library of New South Wales
The hand gamut, 13 March 1790

The hand gamut, 13 March 1790

RB/MSS090
Manuscript sight-singing tutor

The manuscript employs a method of sight-singing known as solmisation. Attributed to medieval Italian music theorist Guido of Arezzo (c. 991–after 1033), the set of six solmisation syllables — ut – re – mi – fa – sol – la — was used in the oral teaching of melodies. These ascending notes were known as the hexachord. A ‘hand gamut’ was a mnemonic device, or visual aid, on which solmisation syllables were mapped to parts of the human hand. A teacher would indicate which notes to sing by pointing to particular finger joints. Although it first appeared after Guido of Arezzo’s time, the hand gamut is frequently referred to as the Guidonian hand.

Footnotes

Meredith Lawn, Music Archivist, State Library of NSW

Simple as Do–Re–Mi

By Meredith Lawn, Music Archivist, State Library of NSW

Follow the musical scale around the hand:

Start at the tip of the thumb (which is two G’s below ‘middle C’) and go down the thumb: G – A – B;

Continue along the base of the fingers (index finger to little finger): C – D – E – F;

Go up the little finger: G – A – B;

Continue to the tip of the ring finger (which is ‘middle C’), middle finger and index finger: C – D – E;

Proceed down the index finger: F – G;

Straight across to the middle finger and ring finger: A – B;

Up the ring finger: C;

Across to the middle finger: D;

Finally to the back of the middle finger: E (shown as an extension to the middle finger).