In 1900, Zoltan Kodály entered the University of Budapest to study modern languages, and he also began to study music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He earned a PhD in philosophy...
The handsigns are from John Curwen, 1816-1880, who promoted using do-re-mi, etc., in England. Kodaly and others such as Orff have used the hand signs in music education.