8/12/2019 Scientific Pitch Notation - Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia
1/3
entific pitch notation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_pitch_notation
f 3 1/14/2007 11:55 AM
Scientific pitch notation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scientific pitch notationin Western music is a method
of naming the notes of the standard Western chromaticscale by
combining a letter-name, accidentals, and an
Hindu-Arabic numeral identifying the pitch's octave.
As an example, "A4" refers to the A above middle C
(that is, A440, the note that has a frequency of 440.0Hz).
Middle C is set as "C4" (261.6Hz). In this notation, C is
considered to be the beginning of an octave, so "D4"
through "B4" all refer to notes abovemiddle C.
Scientific pitch notation is an example of a note-octave
notation, see below.
Scientific pitch notation is often used to specify the range of
an instrument. It provides an unambiguous
means of identifying a note in terms of musical notation rather
than frequency, while at the same time
avoiding the transposition conventions that are used in writing
the music for instruments such as the clarinet
and guitar. The conventional octave naming system, where for
example C0is written as ''C, or CCC, or
referred to as subcontra C, and C4is written as c' or one-lined
C, applies to the written notes that may or
may not be transposed. For example, a d' played on a B? trumpet
is actually a C4in scientific pitch notation.
Three cautions should be observed:
Several variant systems (perhaps originally in error) use the
same symbols as scientific pitch notation,
but differ from it in the numbering of the octaves. Some MIDI
documentation uses C3to represent
middle C; other writers have used C5. Notation that appearsto be
scientific pitch notation may be one
of these variant systems. While they are still
note-octavesystems, when they are calledscientific pitch
notation(as does occur) this is certainly in error.
The notation is sometimes used in the context of meantone
temperament, and does not always assume
equal temperament nor the standard concert A of 440 Hz; this is
particularly the case in connection
with earlier music.
There is some possible confusion as to assigning the correct
octave to C?. The convention is that theletter name is first
combined with the Arabic numeral to determine a specific pitch,
which is then
altered by applying accidentals. For example, the symbol
C?4means "the pitch one chromatic step
below the pitch C4" and not "the pitch-class C? in octave 4", so
C?4is the same pitch as B3, not B4.
The matter is clarified by viewing "?" and "?" as denoting a
certain fixed amount of cents flat or sharp. In
equal temperament, that amount is exacly 100 cents, whereas in
1/4 comma meantone it is precisely
57/4/2048, or 76.049 cents, taking other values for other
meantone tunings. Hence "C?4" is the same as
"C4?", which in equal temperament is 100 cents below middle C,
and equal to B 3, and in 1/4 comma
meantone is 76 cents below C4, and sharper than B3, which is 117
cents below C4.
This is not a great problem in practice, as in most usages of
scientific pitch notation one is notating equal
temperament, and neither C? nor B? need be used at all; rather
these notes could be, and usually are, simply
named B and C respectively.
The first ten Cs in scientific pitch notation
![By David Torgesen. [1] Wikipedia contributors. "Pneumatic artificial muscles." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Feb](https://img.pdfslide.us/doc/110x75/5519c0e055034660578b4b80/by-david-torgesen-1-wikipedia-contributors-pneumatic-artificial-muscles-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia-3-feb.jpg)
