The First Notes: The Story of Do, Re, Mi

The First Notes tells the story of Guido d’Arezzo and his innovative idea for writing down and teaching music, which we now know as Solfège. Mother-daughter duo Julie Andrews (who famously played Maria in The Sound of Music) and Emma Walton Hamilton are the authors, and I appreciate that they tell the story in a way that is accessible to young readers without talking down to them. They have carefully researched the life of this eleventh century monk and have preserved his story in a way that is informative and inspiring. (Did you know that the syllables of Solfège are derived from the first words of a Latin hymn, Ut queant laxis?) The colorful illustrations of Italian artist Chiara Fedele are the perfect homage to this fellow Italian who forever changed the world of music and music education. A section at the back includes a brief note about the song “Do-Re-Mi“ written by Rogers and Hammerstein, a glossary of terms from the book, a description of life as a Benedictine monk, a paragraph about the Guidonian Hand, and an overview of verified facts about Guido’s life.