Notes

A practical definition of a note is:

• A note is the smallest unit of sound you can play on your instrument.

For example: If go to a piano and strike any key once, the sound it makes is one note. Strike another key once. That is also a note. Strike any other key and that is also a note and so on…

Pick up a guitar (hopefully it is in tune) and pluck any string once. The sound it makes is one note. Now hold down the same string at any fret and pluck the same string once. That is another note. Now hold down the same string again but at a completely different fret and pluck that string once again. That is another note and so on…

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CLASSIFICATION AND ORGANIZATION OF NOTES

Notes are classified and organized from low to high in repeating groups of twelve.

For example: If you look at a piano keyboard, you will see a repeating groups of two black keys and three black keys all the way across the piano keyboard. This arrangement of two and three is then actually a repeating pattern of five black keys up and down the piano.(2+3=5)

Then, from left to right (high to low) all the way up the piano, you will notice that there is always white key to the immediate left of the group of two black keys. That note is called “C” . Then, continuing to the right or up the keyboard there is always one note in between the group of two black keys. That note is called “D“. Then the one white note to the immediate right of the group of two white notes is called “E“. The white note to the right of “E” is called “F“. You will notice that “F” is also the white key to the immediate left of the group of three black keys. Continuing up the keyboard to the right, the next white key which is also the first white key in between the group three black keys is called “G”. The next white key which, from left to right, is the very next key in between the group of three black keys is called “A”. Finally we come to the white key that is immediately to the right of the group of three black keys. This note is called “B”.

This gives us a total of eight white notes which along with the five black notes that are grouped in  two’s and three’s gives us a grand total of twelve notes repeating themselves in the same pattern up and down the piano keyboard.

(5+8=12)

Play every “C” on the keyboard and every “D” and every “E” and so on… Notice how every note sounds just like every other note of the same letter, just higher or lower.

You must commit to memory all the letter names of the white keys before attempting learn the names of the black keys.

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NAMES OF THE BLACK KEYS

We will only briefly discuss the names of the black keys at this point but first we need to discuss the concept of sharps and flats. The words “sharp” and “flat” are first and foremost directional terms used to describe movement up or down the keyboard or guitar fretboard or any instrument for that matter. Here is an example of how the terms are used. If, for example, you are at the note “D” and are told to “flat” the “D” that means to play the very next note down or to the left of the “D”. The note that you play then takes on the letter name  “D” and is now called “D-Flat”. If however you are at the note “C” and are told to sharp that “C”, you will play the very next key to the right or “up” the keyboard. That note will then take on the letter name of the “C” and will be called “C-Sharp”. Notice now that the C-Sharp and D-Flat are the same note. Using this same reasoning with the other black notes you will see how the black note directly between D and E can called either D-Sharp or E-Flat, depending on how why you play them or from what direction you are coming from. The black note directly between F and G may be called F-Sharp or G-flat. The black note directly between G and A may be called G-Sharp or A-flat. And Finally, the black note directly between A and B may be called A-Sharp or B-Flat.

That the black keys each have more than one name that changes depending on how they are approached is called Enharmonic Equivalent. We will discuss other uses and enharmonic spellings in future lessons. Particularly Intervals and Scales.

There are more uses of the terms flat and sharp but it is decidedly easier to learn them as we approach their usage in other lessons rather than having a lesson just on sharps and flats which will require the memorization of concepts we can’t make use of untill many lessons down the road. You must, however, commit to memory the letter names of all twelve notes before you move on or every lesson after this will be needlessly difficult.

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Counting Notes: Steps and Half Steps

Notes are counted by Steps and Half steps. In music, the distance from one note to the very next note is called a Half Step. For example, if you play a C on the keyboard the note directly next to it, in any direction is 1/2 step away. So C is 1/2 step away from B and also 1/2 step away from C-sharp (also called D-flat). A is 1/2 step away from A-flat (or G-sharp) and also 1/2 step away from A-sharp (or B-flat). F is 1/2 step away from E and also 1/2 step away from F-sharp (or G-flat). And so on…

The distance between three notes is called a Whole Step. For example, if you go to a piano and play a C and then go directly to the right, skip over C-sharp(D-flat) and then play D, the distance from C to D is called a Whole step. If you play a B-flat(A-sharp) and then going directly to the left you skip over the A note and then play A-flat(G-sharp) the distance between B-flat and G-sharp is called a whole step. And so on….

The distance between four notes is called One and One Half steps because you are simply adding one more note or 1/2 step to the distance so that if you go to the piano and play a G and then going directly to your left you skip over the G-flat and skip over the F and then play the E, the distance between the G-flat and the E is called 1and 1/2 steps. Using this 1/2 step whole step reasoning, we can continue to count larger distances such as 3and 1/2 steps, 4 steps, 4 and 1/2 steps, 5 steps, 5 and 1/2 steps, and so on…

In the next lesson we will talk about Intervals so make sure you understand the concept of steps and 1/2 steps before you go on.

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