The Wikimedia Foundation wants to make talk pages accessible to all, to improve the

depth, quality and the health on the wikis.

We invite all Wikimedians to consult on how to achieve this goal. Join us!
[Help with translations!]

Musical note
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
In music, a note is the pitch and duration of a sound, and also its representation in musical
notation (♪, ♩). A note can also represent a pitch class. Notes are the building blocks of much written
music: discretizations of musical phenomena that facilitate performance, comprehension,
and analysis.[1]
The term note can be used in both generic and specific senses: one might say either "the piece
'Happy Birthday to You' begins with two notes having the same pitch", or "the piece begins with two
repetitions of the same note". In the former case, one uses note to refer to a specific musical event;
in the latter, one uses the term to refer to a class of events sharing the same pitch. (See also: Key
signature names and translations.)

The note A or La

Names of some notes without accidentals

Two notes with fundamental frequencies in a ratio equal to any integer power of two (e.g., half,
twice, or four times) are perceived as very similar. Because of that, all notes with these kinds of
relations can be grouped under the same pitch class.
In traditional music theory, most countries in the world use the solfège naming convention Do–Re–
Mi–Fa–Sol–La–Si, including for instance Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Poland, Romania, most Latin
American countries, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, and all the Arabic-speaking or Persian-
speaking countries. However, within the English-speaking and Dutch-speaking world, pitch classes
are typically represented by the first seven letters of the Latin alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F and G). A
few European countries, including Germany, adopt an almost identical notation, in which H
substitutes for B (see below for details). In Indian music the Sanskrit names Sa–Re–Ga–Ma–Pa–
Dha–Ni (सस-सस-सस-सस-सस-सस-सस) are used, as in Telugu Sa–Ri–Ga–Ma–Pa–Da–Ni (स–सस–
स–स–स–स–सस), and in Tamil (स–सस–स–स–स–स–सस). Byzantium used the names Pa–Vu–Ga–Di–
Ke–Zo–Ni.
The eighth note, or octave, is given the same name as the first, but has double its frequency. The
name octave is also used to indicate the span between a note and another with double frequency.
To differentiate two notes that have the same pitch class but fall into different octaves, the system
of scientific pitch notation combines a letter name with an Arabic numeral designating a specific
octave. For example, the now-standard tuning pitch for most Western music, 440 Hz, is named a′ or
A4.
There are two formal systems to define each note and octave, the Helmholtz pitch notation and
the scientific pitch notation.

Contents

 1Accidentals
 212-tone chromatic scale
 3Note designation in accordance with octave name
 4Written notes
 5Note frequency (hertz)
 6History of note names
 7See also
 8References
 9Bibliography
 10External links

Accidentals[edit]
Letter names are modified by the accidentals. The sharp sign ♯ raises a note by a semitone or half-
step, and a flat ♭ lowers it by the same amount. In modern tuning a half step has a frequency ratio
of 12√2, approximately 1.059. The accidentals are written after the note name: so, for example, F
♯ represents F-sharp, B♭ is B-flat, and C♮ is C natural (or C).
Frequency vs position on treble clef. Each note shown has a frequency of the previous note multiplied by 12√2

Additional accidentals are the double-sharp , raising the frequency by two semitones, and double-
flat , lowering it by that amount.
In musical notation, accidentals are placed before the note symbols. Systematic alterations to the
seven lettered pitches in the scale can be indicated by placing the symbols in the key signature,
which then apply implicitly to all occurrences of corresponding notes. Explicitly noted accidentals can
be used to override this effect for the remainder of a bar. A special accidental, the natural symbol ♮ ,
is used to indicate an unmodified pitch. Effects of key signature and local accidentals do not
accumulate. If the key signature indicates G♯, a local flat before a G makes it G♭ (not G♮ ), though
often this type of rare accidental is expressed as a natural, followed by a flat (♮ ♭) to make this clear.
Likewise (and more commonly), a double sharp sign on a key signature with a single
sharp ♯ indicates only a double sharp, not a triple sharp.
Assuming enharmonicity, many accidentals will create equivalences between pitches that are written
differently. For instance, raising the note B to B♯ is equal to the note C. Assuming all such
equivalences, the complete chromatic scaleadds five additional pitch classes to the original seven
lettered notes for a total of 12 (the 13th note completing the octave), each separated by a half-step.
Notes that belong to the diatonic scale relevant in the context are sometimes called diatonic notes;
notes that do not meet that criterion are then sometimes called chromatic notes.
Another style of notation, rarely used in English, uses the suffix "is" to indicate a sharp and "es" (only
"s" after A and E) for a flat, e.g., Fis for F♯, Ges for G♭, Es for E♭. This system first arose in
Germany and is used in almost all European countries whose main language is not English, Greek,
or a Romance language.
In most countries using these suffixes, the letter H is used to represent what is B natural in English,
the letter B is used instead of B♭, and Heses (i.e., H ) is used instead of B (although Bes and
Heses both denote the English B ). Dutch-speakers in Belgium and the Netherlands use the same
suffixes, but applied throughout to the notes A to G, so that B, B♭ and B have the same meaning as
in English, although they are called B, Bes, and Beses instead of B, B flat and B double flat.
Denmark also uses H, but uses Bes instead of Heses for B .

12-tone chromatic scale[edit]

The following chart lists the names used in different countries for the 12 notes of a chromatic
scale built on C. The corresponding symbols are shown within parenthesis. Differences between
German and English notation are highlighted in bold typeface. Although the English and Dutch
names are different, the corresponding symbols are identical.

Names of notes in various languages and countries

Naming convention 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Cs G
D F A
har shar
shar shar shar
p p
p p p
(C♯ (G♯
(D♯) (F♯) (A♯)
) )
English C D E F G A B

D fl G A
E B
at flat flat
flat flat
(D♭ (G♭ (A♭
(E♭) (B♭)
) ) )

Cis Gis
Dis Fis Ais
(C♯ (G♯
(D♯) (F♯) (A♯)
German[2] ) )
(used
C D E F G A H
in AT, CZ, DE, SE, DK, EE,
FI, HU, LV, NO, PL, RS, SK) Des Ges As
Es
(D♭ (G♭ (A♭ B
(E♭)
) ) )

Cis Gis
Dis Fis Ais
Dutch[2] C (C♯ D E F G (G♯ A B
(D♯) (F♯) (A♯)
(used in NL, and sometimes ) )
in Scandinavia after the
1990s, and Indonesia) Des Ges As
Es Bes
(D♭ (G♭ (A♭
(E♭) (B♭)
) ) )

Do Re Fa Sol La
dies diesi dies dies diesi
is s is is s
Neo-Latin[3] (Do (Re♯ (Fa (Sol (La♯
(used ♯) ) ♯) ♯) )
in IT, FR, ES, RO, Latin S
D
America, GR, IL, TR, Re Mi Fa o La Si
o
and many other countries) l
diesis/bemolle are Italian Re Mi Sol La Si
spelling bem bem bem bem bem
olle olle olle olle olle
(Re (Mi♭ (Sol (La (Si♭
♭) ) ♭) ♭) )

Ni Pa Ga Di Ke
dies diesi dies dies diesi
is s is is s
N D
Byzantine[4] Pa Vu Ga Ke Zo
i i
Pa Di Ke
Vu Zo
hyp hyp hyp
hyph hyph
hesi hesi hesi
esis esis
s s s

Ei- Ei- Ei-

ha Ei-ni he to Ei-i
(嬰 (嬰ニ (嬰 (嬰 (嬰イ
H ) T )
ハ) へ) ト)
a Ho o Ro
Ni (ニ He (
Japanese [5] ( (ホ ( I (イ) (ロ
ヘ)
ハ )
) ト )
Hen Hen- Hen Hen Hen-
) )
-ni ho -to -i ro
(変 (変 (変 (変 (変ロ
ニ) ホ) ト) イ) )
 Re Ga Ma Dha Ni
S P
Indian (Hindustani) Ko Re Kom Ga Ma Tivr Ko Dha Kom Ni
a a
mal al a mal al

Chat
Chat Sadh Kais
ushru
ushru aran ika
ti
ti Ri a Ga Ni
An Shu Shu Dha Ka
Shu Prat
S tar ddh P ddh kal
Indian (Carnatic) ddh i
a a a a a i
a Ri Ma
Ga Ma Dha Shat Ni
Shud Shat Shud
shrut
dha shrut dha
i
Ga i Ri Ni
Dha

Note designation in accordance with octave name[edit]

See also: Piano key frequencies
The table below shows each octave and the frequencies for every note of pitch class A. The
traditional (Helmholtz) system centers on the great octave (with capital letters) and small octave
(with lower case letters). Lower octaves are named "contra" (with primes before), higher ones "lined"
(with primes after). Another system (scientific) suffixes a number (starting with 0, or sometimes −1).
In this system A4 is nowadays standardised at 440 Hz, lying in the octave containing notes from
C4 (middle C) to B4. The lowest note on most pianos is A0, the highest C8. The MIDI system for
electronic musical instruments and computers uses a straight count starting with note 0 for C−1 at
8.1758 Hz up to note 127 for G9 at 12,544 Hz.

Names of octaves

Octave naming systems

frequency
of A (Hz)
traditional Helmholtz scientific MIDI

subsubcontra C͵͵͵ – B͵͵͵ C−1 – B−1 0 – 11 13.75

sub-contra C͵͵ – B͵͵ C0 – B0 12 – 23 27.5

contra C͵ – B͵ C1 – B1 24 – 35 55
 great C–B C2 – B2 36 – 47 110

small c–b C3 – B3 48 – 59 220

one-lined c′ – b′ C4 – B4 60 – 71 440

two-lined c′′ – b′′ C5 – B5 72 – 83 880

three-lined c′′′ – b′′′ C6 – B6 84 – 95 1760

four-lined c′′′′ – b′′′′ C7 – B7 96 – 107 3520

five-lined c′′′′′ – b′′′′′ C8 – B8 108 – 119 7040

six-lined c′′′′′′ – b′′′′′′ C9 – B9 120 – 127 14080

C to G

Written notes[edit]
A written note can also have a note value, a code that determines the note's relative duration. In
order of halving duration, they are: double note (breve); whole note (semibreve); half note
(minim); quarter note (crotchet); eighth note (quaver); sixteenth note (semiquaver).; thirty-second
note (demisemiquaver), sixty-fourth note (hemidemisemiquaver), and hundred twenty-eighth note.
In a score, each note is assigned a specific vertical position on a staff position (a line or space) on
the staff, as determined by the clef. Each line or space is assigned a note name. These names are
memorized by musicians and allow them to know at a glance the proper pitch to play on their
instruments.

0:00

The staff above shows the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C and then in reverse order, with no key
signature or accidentals.

Note frequency (hertz)[edit]

Main article: Music and mathematics
In all technicality, music can be composed of notes at any arbitrary physical[clarification needed] frequency.
Since the physical causes of music are vibrations of mechanical systems, they are often measured
in hertz (Hz), with 1 Hz meaning one vibration per second. For historical and other reasons,
especially in Western music, only twelve notes of fixed frequencies are used. These fixed
frequencies are mathematically related to each other, and are defined around the central note, A4.
The current "standard pitch" or modern "concert pitch" for this note is 440 Hz, although this varies in
actual practice (see History of pitch standards).
The note-naming convention specifies a letter, any accidentals, and an octave number. Each note is
an integer number of half-steps away from concert A (A4). Let this distance be denoted n. If the note
is above A4, then n is positive; if it is below A4, then n is negative. The frequency of the note (f)
(assuming equal temperament) is then:

For example, one can find the frequency of C5, the first C above A4.
There are 3 half-steps between A4 and C5 (A4 → A♯ 4 → B4 → C5),
and the note is above A4, so n = 3. The note's frequency is:

To find the frequency of a note below A4, the value of n is

negative. For example, the F below A4 is F4. There are 4 half-
steps (A4 → A♭4 → G4 → G♭4 → F4), and the note is below A4,
so n = −4. The note's frequency is:

Finally, it can be seen from this formula that octaves

automatically yield powers of two times the original
frequency, since n is a multiple of 12 (12k, where k is the
number of octaves up or down), and so the formula reduces
to:

yielding a factor of 2. In fact, this is the means by which

this formula is derived, combined with the notion of
equally-spaced intervals.
The distance of an equally tempered semitone is
divided into 100 cents. So 1200 cents are equal to one
octave – a frequency ratio of 2:1. This means that a
cent is precisely equal to 1200√2, which is
approximately 1.000578.
For use with the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital
Interface) standard, a frequency mapping is defined by:

where p is the MIDI note number (and 69 is the

number of semitones between C−1 (note 0) and A4).
And in the opposite direction, to obtain the
 frequency from a MIDI note p, the formula is
defined as:

For notes in an A440 equal temperament, this

formula delivers the standard MIDI note
number (p). Any other frequencies fill the space
between the whole numbers evenly. This lets
MIDI instruments be tuned accurately in any
microtuning scale, including non-western
traditional tunings.

History of note names[edit]

Music notation systems have used letters of
the alphabet for centuries. The 6th-century
philosopher Boethius is known to have used
the first fourteen letters of the classical Latin
alphabet (the letter J did not exist until the 16th
century),
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O,
to signify the notes of the two-octave range
that was in use at the time[6] and in
modern scientific pitch notation are
represented as
A2 B2 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4.
Though it is not known whether this
was his devising or common usage at
the time, this is nonetheless
called Boethian notation. Although
Boethius is the first author known to
use this nomenclature in the
literature, Ptolemy wrote of the two-
octave range five centuries before,
calling it the perfect
system or complete system – as
opposed to other, smaller-range note
systems that did not contain all
possible species of octave (i.e., the
seven octaves starting from A, B, C, D,
E, F, and G).
Following this, the range (or compass)
of used notes was extended to three
octaves, and the system of repeating
letters A–G in each octave was
introduced, these being written
as lower-case for the second octave
(a–g) and double lower-case letters for
the third (aa–gg). When the range was
extended down by one note, to a G,
that note was denoted using the Greek
letter gamma (Γ). (It is from this that
the French word for
scale, gamme derives, and the English
word gamut, from "Gamma-Ut", the
lowest note in Medieval music
notation.)
The remaining five notes of the
chromatic scale (the black keys on a
piano keyboard) were added gradually;
the first being B♭, since B was
flattened in certain modes to avoid the
dissonant tritone interval. This change
was not always shown in notation, but
when written, B♭ (B-flat) was written as
a Latin, round "b", and B♮ (B-natural)
a Gothic script (known as Blackletter)
or "hard-edged" b. These evolved into
the modern flat (♭) and natural (♮ )
symbols respectively. The sharp
symbol arose from a barred b, called
the "cancelled b".
In parts of Europe, including Germany,
the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary,
Norway, Denmark, Serbia, Croatia, Slo
venia, Finland and Iceland (and Swede
n before about 1990s), the Gothic b
transformed into the letter H (possibly
for hart, German for hard, or just
because the Gothic b resembled an
H). Therefore, in German music
notation, H is used instead of B♮ (B-
natural), and B instead of B♭ (B-flat).
Occasionally, music written in German
for international use will use H for B-
natural and Bb for B-flat (with a
modern-script lower-case b instead of
a flat sign). Since a Bes or B♭ in
Northern Europe (i.e., a B elsewhere)
is both rare and unorthodox (more
likely to be expressed as Heses), it is
generally clear what this notation
means.
In Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French
, Macedonian, Romanian, Greek, Russ
ian, Mongolian, Flemish, Persian, Arab
ic, Hebrew, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Turki
sh and Vietnam notation the notes of
scales are given in terms of Do–Re–
Mi–Fa–Sol–La–Si rather than C–D–E–
F–G–A–B. These names follow the
original names reputedly given
by Guido d'Arezzo, who had taken
them from the first syllables of the first
six musical phrases of a Gregorian
chant melody "Ut queant laxis", which
began on the appropriate scale
degrees. These became the basis of
the solfège system. "Do" later replaced
the original "Ut" for ease of singing
(most likely from the beginning
of Dominus, Lord), though "Ut" is still
used in some places. "Si" or "Ti" was
added as the seventh degree
(from Sancte Johannes, St. John, to
whom the hymn is dedicated). The use
of "Si" versus "Ti" varies regionally.
The two notation systems most
commonly used today are
the Helmholtz pitch notation system
and the scientific pitch
notation system. As shown in the table
above, they both include several
octaves, each starting from C rather
than A. The reason is that the most
commonly used scale in Western
music is the major scale, and the
sequence C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C (the C
major scale) is the simplest example of
a major scale. Indeed, it is the only
major scale that can be obtained
using natural notes (the white keys on
the piano keyboard) and is typically the
first musical scale taught in music
schools.
In a newly developed system, primarily
in use in the United States, notes of
scales become independent of music
notation. In this system the natural
symbols C–D–E–F–G–A–B refer to the
absolute notes, while the names Do–
Re–Mi–Fa–So–La–Ti are relativized
and show only the relationship
between pitches, where Do is the
name of the base pitch of the scale, Re
is the name of the second pitch, etc.
The idea of so-called movable Do,
originally suggested by John
Curwen in the 19th century, was fully
 developed and involved into a whole
educational system by Zoltán Kodály in
the middle of the 20th century, which
system is known as the Kodály
method or Kodály concept.

See also[edit]
 Ghost note
 Grace note
 Musical tone
 Pensato
 Universal key

References[edit]
1. ^ Nattiez 1990, p.81n9
2. ^ Jump up to:a b -is = sharp; -
es (after consonant) and -s (after
vowel) = flat
3. ^ diesis = sharp; bemolle = flat
4. ^ diesis (or diez)
= sharp; hyphesis = flat
5. ^ 嬰 (Ei) = ♯ (sharp); 変 (Hen)
= ♭ (flat)
6. ^ Boethius. De institutione
musica. Book IV, chap. 14. Ed.
Friedlein, 341.

Bibliography[edit]
 Nattiez, Jean-
Jacques (1990). Music and
Discourse: Toward a Semiology of
Music (Musicologie générale et
sémiologue, 1987). Translated by
Carolyn Abbate (1990). ISBN 0-
691-02714-5.

External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Musical
notes.

 Converter: Frequencies to note

name, ± cents
  Note names, keyboard positions,
frequencies and MIDI numbers
 Music notation systems −
Frequencies of equal temperament
tuning – The English and
American system versus the
German system
 Frequencies of musical notes

show

Musical notation

show

Consonance and dissonance

show

Harmony
Categories:
 Musical notation
Navigation menu
 Not logged in
 Talk
 Contributions
 Create account
 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Search
 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
 Wikipedia store
Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact page
Tools
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Page information
 Wikidata item
 Cite this page
Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version
In other projects
 Wikimedia Commons
Languages
 ‫العربية‬
 Deutsch
 Español
 Français
 Bahasa Melayu
 日本語
 Português
 Русский
 中文
53 more
Edit links
 This page was last edited on 24 February 2019,
at 12:52 (UTC).
 Text is available under the Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms
may apply. By using this site, you agree to
 the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.

 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Developers

 Cookie statement

 Mobile view


s