1. Hobbies & Games
About.com
Piano

Discuss in my forum

Pitch Notation & Octave Naming

By , About.com Guide

See More About:

1 of 2

Scientific Pitch Notation & Other Note-Naming Systems
Scientific Pitch Notation labeled on the piano keyboard.

In each pitch-naming system, octaves start over on C; so each note after C1 is also followed by a 1 (D1, E1, and so on). The two notes on a piano keyboard that come before C1 are A0 and B0.

Image © Brandy Kraemer

Pitch Notation Systems

Pitch notation identifies frequencies using letters, numbers, and/or symbols, allowing for the quick reference of a specific pitch. This lets you avoid having to explain a note by its position on the staff, or by its relative location on the keyboard (for example, C2 instead of “the C two octaves below middle C”).

However, despite its goal of simplifying things, some confusion may arise with pitch notation because there are a few main systems in use; these are:

  1. Scientific Pitch Notation (SPN)
    American system, pictured above. Middle C is C4.

  2. Helmholtz Pitch Notation
    German system; middle C is ci.

  3. English Pitch Notation
    Similar to Helmholtz but differs in the lower octaves. Middle C is c1.

  4. Solfège Notation
    Romance language system; uses words and numbers to name notes. Middle C is do3.
  5. MIDI Notation
    Used to convert computer commands into musical pitch. Middle C is note #60.

©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.

A part of The New York Times Company.