Note name
The letter name of a pitch.
What it means
The note name designates a pitch by a letter. In the German-speaking world the seven natural notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, H. The peculiarity lies with the last one: what is called B in English usage is H in German, and the letter B designates the note a semitone lower. This divergence goes back to the medieval coexistence of a “hard” and a “soft” b, from which two different signs and eventually two note names developed.
In the notation
Altered notes are formed by endings: -is for raising, -es for lowering, thus cis and des, fis and ges. For E and A the lowered forms are es and as; for H it is called b. Double alterations double the syllable: cisis, deses. Octave register is indicated by spelling and strokes — capital letters for the great octave, lower-case for the small octave, with strokes for the once-, twice-, and thrice-marked octave; the reference pitch is accordingly a′.
Musical use
Alongside the letter names stand the syllables of solmization, which designate not an absolute pitch but a degree within the key — with movable do, at least. In the Romance-language world, however, the syllables have become established as fixed note names, so that do there corresponds to German C and si to H. Whoever works with editions and literature from different language areas must keep these three systems apart.
The note name as a designation of pitch is to be distinguished from the name of the note value, which concerns duration.
Performance practice
Say the note names along while practising, especially in unfamiliar positions and with many accidentals — this connects the written image, the name, and the fingering. In exchange with musicians from other language areas, watch the H: an English B means the German H, an English B flat the German B (b). If you notate or communicate pitches, name the octave register too when in doubt.