 Each syllable of the musical solfège system appears in the song's lyrics, sung on the pitch it names.Rodgers was helped in its creation by long-time arranger Trude Rittmann who devised the extended vocal sequence in the song.According to assistant conductor Peter Howard, the heart of the number – in which Maria assigns a musical tone to each child, like so many Swiss bell ringers – was devised in rehearsal by Rittmann (who was credited for choral arrangements) and choreographer Joe Layton.