This is nothing to do with the Sacred Harp notation they use in the States is it? I seem to remember that is based on shapes rather than phonetics.

Off at a tangent - if you want to see the Kodaly system in operation, watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind! Francois Truffaut communicates with the aliens using the hand signals.

Can't help thinking this is as improbable as Will Smith using an Apple laptop to patch in to the nasty aliens' ship in Independence Day. Good job they run Mac OS eh?