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

We bought this for our grandsons, but we enjoyed reading it as well.

A monk invents in the 11th century Doe, Ray, Me, Fah, Sew, Lah, Tea which somehow enabled him to know the notes to sing. The book says learning to sing is hard, which is obviously true. In the Sound of Music, after Julie Andrews says, "um," she starts singing a very hard tune, with no indication of several months having gone by, and the children sing along, getting all the notes correct, which in reality people can't do. Mary Poppins was better because there were no Nazis giving socialism a bad association. So, learning to sing is very hard, and restricted to the wealthy, in this fallen world. The illustrations of the book were good. I wish the pages were numbered. The book has a glossary and sort of bibliography in the back about the facts the story is based on. The book spells "Fah" as "Far" like in British because the song says, "a long, long way to run." So, Hammerstein may have had an accent. The book also tells about Rogers and the lyrist Hammerstein. It's good enough for 5 stars although it makes Christianity and its Ark and Eucharist sound innocent instead abusive.

This book was filled with such wonderful information and pictures. The narrative voice has a very Mr. Rogers feel where it is full of respect and interest rather than "dumbing it down" for kids. It is so elevated and beautiful! HIGHLY recommend!

"The First Notes, the Story of Do, are, Mi" by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton is delightful!The story tells the tale of how a Benedictine monk Guido d'Arezzo loved music and came up with the idea of writing music, "He often wondered why music couldn't be written down and read like words in books." He created Solfège, the names of the notes that make up a musical scale.I got this book for myself and my 9yo. But my 13yo daughter who's a choir and piano student really enjoyed it, too.The book contains a fun story and lot of additional historical background and a glossary for better understanding. This is a true treasure.

I bought this book for my daughter, who has a degree in music, and my son-in-law, who plays multiple instruments, to share with their two sons. We all love it! The illustrations are vibrant, the historical narrative is interesting, and the book includes extra sections about the monk, Julie Andrew's, and Rogers and Hammerstein. I eagerly learned from this book, and I highly recommend it.

I bought this for my 4 year old niece and we have read it every night- she loves is, is just discovering music and is captivated by Guido's story. She has even noticed the similarities in some of the happiness between Guido and the magical Julie Andrews as 'Maria' as they sing amongst the hills and the trees. Delightful!

Gave this to my elementary music teacher daughter, for Christmas. I had to read it myself before I wrapped it. So well done. Daughter loved it and expects to read it to her students. This is a MUST HAVE book for any music fan, Sound of Music fan, or Julie Andrews fan. This is a book for all ages, 5 up.

Julie Andrews and her daughter have gifted the world with another literary beauty. Telling the story of how solfege (do-re-mi...) was created and developed is a lovely lead-in to the way the song Do, a Deer was represented in The Sound of Music. This is a beautifully illustrated, beautifully told musical history... great for use in music classes or in the home.

Very good conditionVery colorful as bookCute as backstoryGot it for a Christmas gift and she was really happy about it

Los libros que publican Julie Andrews y su hija, Emma, son preciosos; cuidados al máximo en contenido, ilustraciones… Este narra la historia de las notas musicales y es una maravilla.