Across higher music education, significant misunderstanding exists between the various solfege systems used for ear-training and sight-singing, as each system boasts a different motivation for labelling and analysing pitch. This paper posits that all solfege systems can be categorised in one of three ways, depending on what is being studied: 1) the identity of the note, 2) the relationship between notes, and 3) the function of the note. These three principles (identity, relationship, and function) are an efficient way to cut through the complicated pedagogical baggage that currently surrounds and segregates solfege systems. The paper then takes a sociological turn to consider recent research in which a similar vocabulary emerges to describe aspects of university student life: 1) the student’s sense of self (identity), 2) the student’s sense of belonging (relationship), and 3) the student’s sense of purpose (function). Using these three principles, common to solfege and sociology, the paper offers a practical framework for the higher music educator to engage with and reflect on their students’ experience of personhood, sociality, and achievement.