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The Notes
LESSONS: 1 THE NOTES 2 ACCIDENTALS 3 TONES AND SEMI-TONES
The Notes
Knowing the notes is an essential part of reading, writing and understanding music. Once you have learned all the notes used in music, you can apply this knowledge to construct chords and understand the relationships between notes. Make sure you always write music notes with capital letters!
The notes you will need to know and remember are as follows:
The musical alphabet ranges from A-G, and then repeats in cycles known as octaves which we will come to later.
A B C D E F G
Take a look at this piano, and observe the note names placed on the keys.
Accidentals (Sharps & Flats)
As you can see, all of the note names we have learnt fall on the white keys. Some of the white keys have black keys between them, however some of them do not.
The black keys on the keyboard represent the notes known as:
sharps Sharps symbol: #
and
flats Flats symbol: b
A sharp, in the case of a piano, is the black key that is directly on the right side (going up in pitch) of a white note.
A flat is the black key that is directly on the left side (going down in pitch) of a white note. If there is no black key between two white keys, this means that there is no sharp/flat for that note.
Sharps and flats function the same way and are just two different ways of looking at the note. Black notes will therefore always have a sharp name and a flat name.
Black keys = sharps and flats
Examples: Sharps and Flats
EXAMPLE 1
Look, for example, between the white C and D keys. Notice a black key in the middle of them?
This note is known as C sharp (C#) because it falls right next to the C in the direction of a higher pitch.
The very same note between the C and D note can also be called D flat (Db) because it is also next to the D in the direction of a lower pitch.
EXAMPLE 2
Let's try another example. Look between the white notes F and G. Notice the black key between them?
This note is known as F#, or Gb.
EXAMPLE 3
Once you get the hang of this, look at the white keys B and C. There is no black key between them. This means that there is no B# or Cb note. B and C therefore are a semi-tone because they are directly next to each other. (A tone up from B would be C#, not C!)
Practice your notes and accidentals on the Quizzes page! To access this page, you'll need to sign up as a site member, but don't worry - it's totally FREE! Visit the Quizzes page and keep up your practice!
Tones and Semi-Tones
Below, all of the notes are shown chromatically, meaning that it involves the sharpening and flattening of notes. Chromatic moves by semi-tones.
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
When you move from one note, to the note directly next to it, the pitch distance is called a semi-tone. When you move from one note, and skip the one next to it to land on the one after that, it is called a tone. An easy way to think of it is through jumps: Start on a note, and if you jump once it is a semi-tone. If you jump twice, it is a tone! Below are some examples of tones and semi-tones; the notes in the same colour represent the relationship.
Semi-Tone (ST) Examples
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
ST
ST
ST
Tone (T) Examples
T
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
T
T
Examples: Tones and Semi-Tones
EXAMPLE 1
F to F# is a semi-tone
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
EXAMPLE 2
D to E is a tone
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
EXAMPLE 3
B to C is a semi-tone
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
Practice your notes and accidentals on the Quizzes page! To access this page, you'll need to sign up as a site member, but don't worry - it's totally FREE! Visit the Quizzes page and keep up your practice!
GLOSSARY
Pitch
The position of sound. For example high-pitch and low-pitch.
Octave
An octave is the same note at a different pitch. For example the interval of E and E is an octave.
Accidentals
Accidentals refers to the use of sharps and flats.
Sharp '#'
A sharp is when a note is raised by a semi-tone. It is represented by # symbol. There is no B# and no E#.
Flat 'b'
A flat is when a note is lowered by a semi-tone. It is represented by b symbol. There is no Cb and no Fb.
Tone
Semi-Tone
The interval between two notes that have a note between them.
Scale
The interval between two adjacent notes. Also called a half-tone or half-step.
A set of musical notes ordered by their pitch. Examples include major scale, minor scale, blues scale, chromatic scale.
Chromatic
Meaning it involves semi-tones. A chromatic scale will move by semi-tones, e.g. A A# b C C# D D# E F F# G G# and repeated.
Diatonic
A type of scale (e.g. major scale) that uses a mixture of semi-tones and tones.
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