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| In western music, notes are assigned alphabetic names (A, B, C etc...) which are separated in pitch by |
In western music, notes are assigned alphabetic names (A, B, C etc...) which are separated in pitch by certain frequencies. The standard frequency division is the ''tone''. Tones can be further divided into ''semitones'', which have the value of half a tone. When written out as ''score'' each tone is assigned a vertical position (on a line or in a space) on the ''stave'': | ||
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| Because the lines on the stave only distinguish between tones, notes are modified by the use of ''accidentals''. The two main accidentals are ''sharps'' and ''flats''; these respectively raise or lower the pitch of a note by a semitone. Double flats and double sharps can change the frequency of a note by less than a semitone. | |||
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| <i>This needs a re-write. The picture is great, but: | |||
| * the notes A,B,C... are not seperated by tones. | |||
| * "rung" is ambigious. notes are placed across lines or in spaces. | |||
| * accidental signs change pitch, but accidental notes are those which have been modified by sings to be out of the scale of a piece. This definition becomes shaky in pieces that don't use the diatonic scale. | |||
| Part of the problem lies in that the terminology of the subject itself ambiguous. A note is a piece of sound, eg the C sharp key on my piano plays a note. On the page is printed a note, which is C sharp. These two uses of the word to me are different in some way which I can't yet qualify. A rough attempt: | |||
| * Generally: a single sound of constant pitch | |||
| * Musically: a pitch which has a name assigned to it. (eg C sharp; mi ) | |||
| * Specifically: the event of a sound being played in a piece of music, or the symbol in printed music representing the sound to be played. | |||
| </i> | |||
| /Talk | |||
Revision as of 17:54, 20 January 2002
A note in musical theory denotes a sound of constant pitch lasting for a specified time.
In western music, notes are assigned alphabetic names (A, B, C etc...) which are separated in pitch by certain frequencies. The standard frequency division is the tone. Tones can be further divided into semitones, which have the value of half a tone. When written out as score each tone is assigned a vertical position (on a line or in a space) on the stave:
http://meta.wikipedia.com/upload/c_maj.png
Because the lines on the stave only distinguish between tones, notes are modified by the use of accidentals. The two main accidentals are sharps and flats; these respectively raise or lower the pitch of a note by a semitone. Double flats and double sharps can change the frequency of a note by less than a semitone.
/Talk