Main Body
1 Pitch notation
Learning objectives for Chapter 1
In this chapter, we will learn:
- How to read and notate pitches on the staff in Western music notation, using four different clefs: treble, bass, alto, and tenor
- Some different symbols to modify notes on the staff, including 8va/8vb symbols and accidentals (flats, sharps, double flats, double sharps, and natural signs)
- How the notes are arranged on the 88-note piano keyboard, as well as their octave designation numbers and their enharmonic equivalents in notation on the staff
Pitch notation and clefs
In classical Western music notation, notes are drawn on the lines and spaces of a five-line to indicate : how high or low a note sounds. Each note is given a letter name ranging from A to G. are symbols placed on the leftmost side of a staff to indicate which line or space corresponds to a given note. Various clefs accommodate different ranges and instruments by allowing higher or lower notes to be shown on the staff. Examples are given below.
Example 1‑1. Pitch notation with treble clef
Example 1‑2. Pitch notation with bass clef
Example 1‑3. Pitch notation with movable C clefs
Although tenor and alto clefs are less common than treble and bass, they are used for several important orchestral instruments. For example, viola uses alto clef. Tenor clef is used for extended passages in the higher ranges of instruments such as bassoon, violoncello, and trombone.
There are some common tricks and mnemonic devices for learning treble and bass clefs, as shown in the following examples.
Example 1‑4. Tricks for learning treble clef
Example 1‑5. Tricks for learning bass clef
Each note that appears on a staff has a specific placement in a particular octave. For example, the A that appears on the first space of the bass clef staff is one octave lower in pitch than the A that appears on the fifth line on the same staff. The , as shown in Example 1‑6, combines treble and bass clefs and is used commonly for piano music since it covers a wide pitch range. are used to extend the number of pitches that may be shown on a staff.
Example 1‑6. Pitch notation on the grand staff
Video: T01 Pitch notation and clefs (11:02)
This video introduces Western staff notation to indicate pitch using treble, bass, and movable-C (alto and tenor) clefs. The video concludes with an excerpt from Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, a ballet that features a compelling bassoon solo notated in tenor clef.
When ledger lines become too cumbersome to show pitches below or above the given range of a staff, there are additional symbols that may be used to indicate an octave below (8vb) or an octave above (8va) a written note or set of notes. Example 1‑7 shows how a very low passage is made easier to read through the use of the 8vb symbol. Similarly, Example 1‑8 shows two ways to notate a very high passage, one with the 8va symbol and the other with ledger lines.
Example 1‑7. Very low passage notated with and without 8vb symbol
Example 1‑8. Very high passage notated with and without 8va symbol
Keyboard, octave designation, and symbols for modifying notes
In order to distinguish different octave placements of the same pitch class, we use a system of , also referred to as “American Standard Pitch Notation” or “ASPN.” This system accommodates roughly the same span of ranges used on the 88-key piano. The octave designations on the grand staff are shown in Example 1‑9, and corresponding designations on the keyboard are shown in Example 1‑10. Following this system, middle C is referred to as C4. The octave below middle C is C3, two octaves below is C2, and three octaves below is C1. The octave above middle C is C5, two octaves above is C6, and three octaves above is C7. The highest note on the piano, which is four octaves above middle C, is C8.
Example 1‑9. Octave designations on the grand staff
Example 1‑10. Octave designations on keyboard layout
The pitch of a note may be modified by adding one of the symbols that appear in Figure 1‑1.
Figure 1‑1. Symbols for modifying notes
Example 1‑11 shows the correlation between modified note names and their location on the keyboard. A is the interval between two immediately adjacent keys on the piano. For comparison, on a guitar, the distance between each adjacent fret on the same string is also a half step.
Example 1‑11. Modified notes on the keyboard
Two notes that are spelled differently but sound the same are said to be . For example, C
and D
look different in pitch notation, but sound at the same frequency. Likewise, F, G and E𝄪 are all valid ways of writing the same note. Each of these enharmonically equivalent notes is shown in pitch notation in Example 1‑12.
Example 1‑12. Enharmonically equivalent notes in pitch notation
Video: T03 Keyboard layout, octave designations, and modifying notes (7:53)
This video explores how the keyboard is arranged, defines how we can refer to notes not only by letter name but also by octave designation, and introduces five basic symbols for modifying notes: sharp, flat, natural, double sharp, and double flat.
EXERCISE 1-1 Pitch identification
PART A. For each of the notes written on the grand staff below, provide the letter name and octave designation. The first is done for you.
SET 1
SET 2
PART B. For each of the notes written on the movable C clefs below, provide the letter name and octave designation beneath the staff. Take care to distinguish between alto and tenor clef. The first is done for you.
SET 1
SET 2
Want more practice identifying note names? Try these drills:
Practice identifying note names on grand staff (tonesavvy)
Practice identifying note names on grand staff (musictheory.net)
Practice identifying note names in alto clef (tonesavvy)
EXERCISE 1-2 Pitch notation
PART A. Given the letter name and octave designation, draw the following notes on the grand staff below in the most logical position. In some cases, it may make sense to notate the pitch in either treble or bass clef (either is fine). Be careful to notate the sharp or flat to the immediate left of the note that is modified, on the same line or space. The first is done for you.
SET 1
SET 2
PART B. Given the letter name and octave designation, draw the following notes on the movable C clefs below. The first is done for you. Take special care to distinguish between alto and tenor clef, to notate the sharp or flat directly to the left of the note that is modified, and to place the note in the correct octave.
SET 1
SET 2
Supplemental resources for Chapter 1
8Notes primer on the staff, clefs, and ledger lines
Andre Mount’s chapter on pitch notation
Rob Hutchison’s chapter on basic concepts
Barbara Murphy’s primer on musical notation
Gilbert DeBenedetti’s chapter on the keyboard and the treble clef
Gilbert DeBenedetti’s chapter on the bass clef
Chelsea Hamm’s chapter on Western music notation (Open Music Theory)
Chelsea Hamm’s chapter on notation of notes, clefs, and ledger lines (Open Music Theory)
Chelsea Hamm’s chapter on reading clefs (Open Music Theory)
Chelsea Hamm’s chapter on the keyboard and the grand staff (Open Music Theory)
Chelsea Hamm and Bryn Hughes’s chapter on octave designations (Open Music Theory)
in Western musical notation, a set of lines and spaces, each representing a different pitch
term referring to how listeners perceive sound frequencies, in absolute terms as letter names (A, B, C, etc.) and in relative terms ("higher" or "lower" pitch)
in Western music notation, a symbol that represents a particular range of pitches
in Western music notation, a commonly used two-staff system, connected with a bracket, in which the top staff uses treble clef and the bottom uses bass clef; often used for piano music notation
in Western music notation, lines that extend an existing 5-line staff to notate notes above or below the given staff lines
system that allows us to differentiate among different octave placements of the same letter name (e.g., C4 refers to middle C; A4 refers to the A above middle C, while A3 refers to the A below middle C)
In the 12-note Western chromatic scale, the smallest interval between two notes
term referring to two notes, intervals, or chords that sound the same, but are spelled differently
