Note name

Seven letters

The tone system knows seven natural notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B. In German-speaking countries the seventh is called H, and B is the name of B♭; when you read German sheet music and chord symbols, H therefore stands for our B. After the B the series begins again from the beginning one octave higher. Because the names repeat, the octave designation shows the register. In scientific pitch notation the octave number follows the letter: C4 is middle C, A4 is the standard pitch of 440 Hz. Older German texts use the Helmholtz system instead: great octave (capital letters), small octave (lowercase letters), one-line octave (c′), two-line octave (c″); c′ is middle C, our C4.

Altered notes

Every natural note can be raised by a sharp by a semitone or lowered by a flat by a semitone, and by a double sharp or double flat even by two. In English the word “sharp” or “flat” is added to the name. In German the ending -is or -es is added to the name (Cis, Des), with three exceptions: B♭ is simply B, E♭ is Es, A♭ is As.

The name of a note depends on its function, not on its pitch. In A major the third note is C♯ and not D♭, although both are the same key on the piano, because a scale uses each letter exactly once: A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G♯. If you wrote D♭, the letter D would occur twice and C not at all. From C to E there are four semitones and three letters, so a third; from C to F♭ there are likewise four semitones, but four letters, so a diminished fourth: the same sound, a different meaning.

Common mistakes

• Enharmonic shortcut: A♭ is named instead of G♯ because it sounds the same on the instrument. In notation the name counts, not the sound.
• Overlooking semitone steps among the natural notes: Between E and F and between B and C there is only a semitone.
• Forgetting double accidentals: In remote keys and with diminished intervals double sharps really do occur.