SingLet^TM Stories

SingLet^TM began with the frustration of an adult piano learner who struggled to sing while playing.

Dr. Fuping Zhu came to piano later in life. When playing only the white keys, singing along was manageable because most alphabetic note names — C, D, E, G, A, and B — are easy to pronounce. However, the note name F, pronounced /ɛf/ with two distinct phonetic components, already felt awkward to sing. Once accidental notes entered the picture, the difficulty increased dramatically. Long note names such as “C-sharp” or “D-flat” became nearly impossible to sing fluently in real time.

She then tried the traditional Do–Re–Mi solfège system, hoping it would simplify the process. Instead, the cognitive burden became even heavier:

• Translate the printed notes on the score into letter-note names mentally;
• Convert note names such as D, F♯, or B♭ into their corresponding solfège syllables;
• Apply additional rules for accidentals, since traditional solfège systems often lack consistent and intuitive chromatic logic;
• Finally, convert those syllables into vocal production and internal pitch hearing.

The process simply required too many mental steps and too much cognitive loading for fluent musical thinking, esp. for later beginners.

Curious about how musicians outside the United States approached note singing, she explored German and French note-naming systems as well. Yet these systems offered little improvement in singability, memory efficiency, or cognitive simplicity.

This led to a central question:

Driven by that question, Dr. Zhu commenced independent research in 2020 to reinvent letter-name solmization itself.

After six years of development, experimentation (in which her bilingual English and Chinese languages have played an important role), feedback from her and her family’s international friends, suggestions from experts in the musical fields, and refinement, SingLet^TM emerged.

SingLet^TM (/ˈsɪŋlɛt/) — Sing + Letter — is a completely singable letter-name solmization where every written note has a unique, short, and singable label that ties to its letter note name and doesn’t require precise American or British or Canadian or Australian English pronunciations.

Another major frustration was pitch accuracy.

As a late beginner in both piano playing and choir singing, Dr. Zhu initially believed that, like many other complex skills, Absolute Pitch (AP) could eventually be acquired through sufficient practice under the widely cited “10,000-hour rule.” Yet despite years of dedicated effort, AP remained elusive.

While learning piano, she noticed a fundamental tension between two different ways musicians process pitch.

On one hand, sight singing from piano scores requires stable associations between pitches and note names — essentially fixed pitch recognition associated with AP. On the other hand, choir training emphasized Relative Pitch (RP), where “Do” shifts according to key signature and pitch relationships matter more than fixed note identities.

Traditional solfège systems have proven extraordinarily successful for developing Relative Pitch, musical audiation, sight-singing, and functional tonal understanding. For generations, Do–Re–Mi pedagogy has helped countless musicians internalize relationships between notes and navigate music fluently across changing tonal centers.

Yet for some learners — especially later beginners attempting to connect staff notation, instrumental playing, singing, and pitch naming simultaneously — an additional challenge remains: building immediate and intuitive associations between written notes and fixed pitch identities.

This realization gradually led to a deeper question:

Most scholars agree that early musical exposure can facilitate AP development, and many studies have reported associations between AP and certain cognitive or neurological characteristics. AP is generally considered rare. Traditional estimates have placed its prevalence at fewer than 1 in 10,000 people (0.01%) in the general population, while more recent studies suggest that AP or AP-like abilities may occur in several percent of trained musicians and music students. Regardless of the exact percentage, AP remains sufficiently uncommon.

Absolute Pitch is, in many ways, a language.

Like spoken language, pitch naming requires exposure, reinforcement, communication, and an environment in which the language is actively used. Yet throughout history, there has never been a widely accessible and scalable educational system specifically designed to cultivate AP for the general population.

If many individuals possess at least some latent capacity for AP development, then perhaps the rarity of AP reflects not only biology, but also the absence of effective systems, communities, and pedagogies designed to nurture it.

The history of the Hebrew language offers an illuminating analogy.

Had we lived in ancient time or in modern-day Israel today, many of us would likely speak Hebrew fluently. Yet in the United States — often cited as the world’s third-largest Hebrew-speaking country outside Israel — Hebrew speakers still represent only about 0.07% of the population, and nearly 44% of them live in the New York metropolitan area.

We would not normally conclude that Hebrew fluency depends primarily on rare genetics or extraordinary neural wiring. Instead, we recognize the importance of educational systems, cultural immersion, and active language communities.

If this reasoning applies to spoken language, could it also apply to pitch language?

Traditional solfège systems have shaped generations of musicians by cultivating Relative Pitch, audiation, sight-singing, and tonal fluency. Through movable-Do practice, learners develop a deep sensitivity to relationships between notes across changing tonal centers.

SingLet^TM emerged from the exploration of whether letter names themselves could become more singable, memorable, and cognitively intuitive. SingLet^TM aspires to, not only for reading notes, but also complement existing solfège traditions by strengthening the connection between notation, vocalization, and fixed pitch awareness.

Recent research suggests that at least some adults can improve pitch-labeling abilities through structured training, challenging the long-held assumption that meaningful AP development is possible only in early childhood.

Rather than separating AP and RP into isolated domains, SingLet^TM aspires to support greater agility between fixed-pitch awareness and relative-pitch development. By reducing friction between notation, naming, hearing, and singing, SingLet^TM hopes to enrich the broader ecosystem of pitch learning alongside the enduring strengths of solfège traditions, nurturing dual pitch communities.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.