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By default, most text notation doesn’t bother to distinguish between a high and low version of a note. It is assumed either that this is evident from the surrounding notes or that the reader is at least somewhat familiar with the music already.
However, there are ways of describing the exact pitch of a note, most notably the Roland system of MIDI note numbers developed in the early 1980’s to transmit and receive musical note pitch information between controllers and synthesisers.
This system is based on counting note names in octaves, where middle C = C4.
NOTE: The octave numbers change at C, not A! Be careful not to mis-count the number of octaves…
For Example, A4-C5 is a major 3rd, not an octave plus a major 3rd.
In order to make this blog accessible to a wide range of musicians, I have tried to include text notation where I can. Octave numbering expands my capacity to use text for examples and exercises.
For more on octave numbers and the pitch of different instruments, please visit my Beginner’s Tip, Pitch Ranges.
Below are the pitch ranges of some common musical instruments. The note names and octave numbers are written below the piano keyboard. Middle C and A440 are marked.
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Each note can occur at various octaves. The exact octave of a note can be indicated using octave numbers. Octaves are numbered starting on C. The lowest C is C1. The range of a piano keyboard is from A0 to C8.
Middle C is the name given to C4. Middle C is a pitch that most instruments, high to low, can play and is considered to be in the middle of the range of instrument pitches.
Middle C is the link between the treble and bass clefs. It sits on an imaginary line just above the bass clef and just below the treble clef. This line, called a ledger line, is drawn through the notehead when needed. Middle C is the C below A440.
This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.
In 1. Note Names, Semitones and Octaves we saw how the notes are named and how far apart they are in pitch. Now let’s look at how they are represented in music notation.
Notes
A note symbol can have up to 3 parts: notehead, stem and tail.
The note’s pitch is indicated by the notehead’s position on a stave.
A notehead can be solid, as above, or hollow but this doesn’t alter its pitch. Hollow noteheads are used to indicate longer notes. Tails are only used for short notes.
A stave is a set of 5 lines on which musical notes can be written. The pitch of a note is indicated by the notehead’s vertical position on the stave. The higher the notehead, the higher the pitch.
The note can either sit on a line or between lines (see Notes on a stave, below). Each position represents a letter. Flats and sharps don’t alter this position: A flat, A natural and A sharp all have the same position on a stave. The flat or sharp is indicated by a b or # sign preceding the note.
NOTE: My post is about standard music notation. For certain instruments and genres there are special staves with less or more lines. Different types of noteheads can also be used.
Clefs
A clef tells us which note position represents each letter as well as at which octave. This allows us to adjust the usable part of the stave to fit the range of various instruments.
The most common clefs are the treble clef, also known as the G clef, and the bass clef, also called the F clef.
The curl in the treble clef centres on the G above middle C
The two dots of the bass clef surround the note F below middle C
Various other clefs exist for specific instruments. Even the guitar has a different clef, the tenor clef, which looks like a treble clef but with an “8” attached to the lowest point. The notes look the same as the treble clef but sound an octave lower to suit the guitar’s normal range.
Notes on a stave
Here are the naturals for 2 octaves, starting in the bass clef then continuing in the treble clef.
Note that there is a curly bracket at the left which joins the two staves. This indicates that the staves are used together, as one larger stave, known as the great stave or grand staff. The great stave is useful for keyboard instruments such as the piano, as piano’s range is much too large to be represented on one stave. Also, a pianist’s left hand typically plays bass notes and the right hand plays treble notes.
Stem Direction
The stem goes down from the notehead for higher pitches and up for lower notes.
When the notehead sits on or above the middle line of the stave, the stem is on the left side of the notehead and goes downwards.
when the notehead sits below the middle line of the stave, the stem is on the right side of the notehead and goes upwards.
Ledger lines
Middle C is actually one line above the stave on the bass clef, It’s also one line below the stave on the treble clef. A short line called a ledger line is drawn to indicate this.
Ledger lines can be used to extend the range you can write on a stave, both above and below the stave. Many instruments have a range larger than what fits within a stave.
Try These…
1 Write down the note names of the following notes:
2 On some manuscript paper, write a treble clef on one stave and a bass clef on the stave below it. Now write the following notes on each stave. Use ledger lines when needed:
G on the lower part of the stave
C in the stave
A at or above the top of the stave
D at or below the bottom of the stave
C above the stave
G below the stave
E on the upper part of the stave
F at or below the bottom of the stave
Answers at the bottom of this post.
Please feel welcome to like, comment or to share this post. If you have any questions, pleased leave them as a comment and I will respond as soon as I can. If you enjoy my posts and would like to be kept up to date, please subscribe.
Graphics taken from The Tiny Music Theory Book, a short, easy to read guide to the essentials of music theory and notation, available here.
