1 - Pitch and Pitch Class

The Musician's Guide to Theory and Analysis - Part I: Elements of Music

accidental

A musical symbol (♯,♭,♮, 𝄪, or 𝄫) that appears before a note to raise or lower its pitch.

flat

1. Symbol that lowers a pitch by one half step.

2. The piano key immediately below (to the left of) any white key.

sharp

An accidental (♯) that raises a pitch a half step.

natural

An accidental (♮) that cancels a sharp or flat.

double flat

An accidental (𝄫) that lowers a pitch two half steps (one whole step) below its letter name.

double sharp

An accidental (𝄪) that raises a pitch two half steps (one whole step) above its letter name.

clef

A symbol that appears at the far left of every staff to designate which line or space represents which pitch (in which octave).

treble clef

Clef positioned on a staff to indicate G4, identified by the end of its curving line; also known as G clef.

bass clef

Clef positioned on a staff to indicate F; its two dots surround the F3 line. (Also known as the F clef).

C clef

A movable clef that may be placed on a staff to identify any one of the five lines as middle C (C4).

alto clef

A C clef positioned on the staff so that the middle line indicates middle C (C4).

tenor clef

A C clef positioned on the staff so that the fourth line from the bottom indicates middle C (C4).

choral tenor clef

A treble clef (or G clef) with a small 8 added to the bottom of the clef’s lowest curve, indicating transposition down one octave from the notated treble clef pitches; typically used for tenor voices.

contour

Shape (rising or falling) of a melody.

counting in thirds

Reading alternate letter names (G-B-D-F-A or A-C-E-G-B) to develop fluency in reading lines or spaces on a staff.

cycles per second

A measure of the frequency of a sound wave.

decibel (dB)

A measurement of perceived loudness, from O at the lowest limit of audibility to about 300; 85 or higher leads to risk of noise-induced hearing loss or pain for humans.

dynamic marking

Symbols indicating the degree of loudness or softness of a sound (p, mf, f, etc.).

enharmonic equivalence

The idea that two or more possible names for a single pitch (e.g., C#, Db, B*) are musically and functionally the same.

enharmonic spelling

Pitches with the same sound but different letter names, such as Bb and A#.

equal temperament

A type of tuning that divides the octave into twelve equal half steps.

frequency

In a sound wave, the rate of vibrations that result in the perception of pitch.

grand staff

Two staves, one in the treble clef and one in the bass clef, connected by a curly brace; typically found in piano music.

guitar fretboard

The part of the guitar where players place their fingers to produce pitches. The fretboard is named for its frets: thin strips of metal indicating where the performer presses the strings to perform specific pitches. Each fret moving away from the tuning pegs raises the pitch a half step from the previous one by shortening the length of the string that is vibrating.

Hertz (Hz)

A measurement of frequency as cycles per second. As an example, a typical tuning pitch for an orchestra (A440) is the pitch A4, measured at the frequency of 440 cycles per second.

interval

The musical space between two pitches or pitch classes.

half step

The musical space between a pitch and the next-closest pitch on the keyboard. Also called a semitone.

semitone

A half step.

whole step

The combination of two adjacent half steps.

whole tone

A whole step.

ledger line

Extra lines drawn through stems and/or note heads to designate a pitch above or below a staff.

loudness

Perceived from the relative intensity of sound pressure, measured in decibels (dB). Perception is subjective and individual.

middle C

C4, the C located at the center of the piano keyboard.

musical alphabet

The seven alphabet letters (A B C D E F G) used to name pitches; after G, the musical bass clef alphabet starts over with A.

note head

The oval part of the note, either open (white note head; whole or half note) or filled (black note head).

octave

The distance of eight musical steps.

octave equivalence

The concept that two pitches an octave apart are functionally equivalent.

ottava sign

The symbol 8va, meaning to play up an octave from the pitch notated, or 8vb, to play down an octave.

overtone

Component of a musical pitch that sounds together with the fundamental, but much higher and softer. The relative strength of overtones gives instruments their characteristic timbres.

pitch

A tone sounding in a particular octave.

pitch class (pc)

A pitch labeling system that assumes octave and enharmonic equivalence. Notes an octave (or several octaves) apart share the same name (e.g., F3, F5, and F2 all belong to pc F).

score

Musical notation.

staff

The five parallel lines on which music is notated.

stem

A thin vertical line attached to and extending above or below a note head.

tablature (TAB)

simplified notation system for guitar and other string instruments that shows the fretboard positions for notes and chords. There are two types: (1) the six strings of the guitar are shown as horizontal lines with the lowest on the bottom and the highest on the top, and the music is read left to right, with a numeral representing the number of the fret where that note is played; (2) for individual chords, a grid with the strings represented vertically (lowest on the left) and frets horizontally with dots showing where to place enharmonic the fingers. In this latter type, a small o above equivalence a string indicates that string is to be strummed; a small x indicates that string does not sound in the chord.

timbre

The characteristic quality of a musical sound, dynamic created by its fundamental and array of overtones combined with its attack and decay. Timbres are typically identified by the name of the instrument playing or by adjectives that describe the listener's perception (such as bright, hollow, rough, or sparkling).