1.1Three names for the same notes

In Europe we learned:

до – ре – ми – фа – соль – ля – си or Do – Re – Mi – Fa – Sol – La – Si

Western chord charts normally use:

C – D – E – F – G – A – B

These line up as:

Western	Russian	European
C	до	do
D	ре	re
E	ми	mi
F	фа	fa
G	соль	sol
A	ля	la
B	си	si

But for harmony and improvisation, we will add a third system:

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7

In C major:

Function	Western	Russian
1	C	до
2	D	ре
3	E	ми
4	F	фа
5	G	соль
6	A	ля
7	B	си

The number system is important because it survives transposition.

In C major:

1 = C

In D major:

1 = D

In F major:

1 = F

So instead of memorizing thousands of individual chord relationships, you eventually think:

5 wants to resolve to 1.

That rule works in every key.