In music Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses.", sharp means higher in pitch. More specifically, in musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system which represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols, sharp means "higher in pitch Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the four major auditory attributes of sounds along with loudness, timbre and sound source location. When the actual fundamental frequency can be precisely determined through physical measurement, it may differ from the perceived pitch because of overtones, also known as by a semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent notes in a 12-tone scale . This implies that its size is exactly or approximately equal to 100 cents, a (half step)," and has an associated symbol (♯), which is often confused with the number (hash) sign Number sign is a name for the symbol #, which is used for a variety of purposes including, in some countries, the designation of a number . "Number sign" is the preferred Unicode name for the code point. Its Unicode code point is U+0023, and its ASCII value is 35 (0x23 in hexadecimal). The html entity is # or # (#). The hash sign has two horizontal lines and two slanted lines, while the sharp sign has two vertical lines and two slanted lines.

Under twelve-tone equal temperament Equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. In equal temperament tunings, an interval — usually the octave — is divided into a series of equal steps . For classical music, the most common tuning system is twelve-tone equal temperament, inconsistently, B sharp, for instance, sounds the same as, or is enharmonically In modern music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval (enharmonic interval), or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently. Thus, the enharmonic spelling of a written note, interval or chord is an enharmonic equivalent to the way that note, equivalent to, C natural In musical notation, a natural sign is an accidental sign used to cancel a flat or sharp from either a preceding note or the key signature. If a bar contains a double sharp or double flat accidental and the composer wishes to denote the same note with only a single sharp or flat, a natural sign traditionally precedes the (single) sharp or flat, and G sharp is enharmonically equivalent to A flat In music, flat, or Bemolle, means "lower in pitch." More specifically, in music notation, flat means "lower in pitch by a semitone ," and has an associated symbol (♭), which is a stylised lowercase "b" . The Unicode character '♭' (U+266D) is the flat sign. Its HTML entity is ♭. In other tuning systems Tuning is the process of adjusting the pitch of one or many tones from musical instruments to establish typical intervals between these tones. Tuning is usually based on a fixed reference, such as A = 440 Hz. Out of tune refers to a pitch/tone that is either too high or too low (flat) in relation to a given reference pitch. While an instrument, such enharmonic equivalences in general do not exist.

Double sharps also exist; these have the symbol and raise a note by two semitones A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant, or a whole step. Less often (in for instance microtonal music Microtonal music is music using microtones — intervals of less than an equally spaced semitone. Microtonal music can also refer to music which uses intervals not found in the Western system of 12 equal intervals to the octave notation In music, an accidental is a note whose pitch is not a member of a scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the symbols used to mark such notes, sharps (♯), flats (♭), and naturals (♮), may also be called accidentals. An accidental sign raises or lowers the following note from its normal pitch,) one will encounter half, or three-quarter, or otherwise modified, sharps.

Although very uncommon and used only in modern classical music, a triple sharp (♯ ) can sometimes be found. This raises a note by three semitones.

Three mnemonics for the order of sharps In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the twelve tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys. More specifically, it is a geometrical representation of relationships among the 12 pitch classes of the chromatic scale in pitch class space. Since the term ' in key signatures are: Fat Cats Gulp Down All Early Birds, Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle, Fat Cats Go Dancing After Eating Breakfast, or Father Christmas Gave Dad An Electric Blanket An electric blanket is a blanket with an integrated electrical heating device usually placed above the top bed sheet. Another variation of the electric blanket is the electric mattress pad, which is placed below the bottom bed sheet. Electric blankets usually have a control unit which adjusts the amount of heat the blanket produces. Blankets for. When read backwards, the previous sentences display the order of flats. (e.g. Birds Eat Angleworms Do Gophers Catch Fish).

In tuning Tuning is the process of adjusting the pitch of one or many tones from musical instruments to establish typical intervals between these tones. Tuning is usually based on a fixed reference, such as A = 440 Hz. Out of tune refers to a pitch/tone that is either too high or too low (flat) in relation to a given reference pitch. While an instrument, sharp can also mean "slightly higher in pitch" (by some unspecified amount). If two simultaneous notes are slightly out of tune, the higher-pitched one (assuming the lower one is properly pitched) is said to be too sharp with respect to the other.

In Unicode Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. Developed in conjunction with the Universal Character Set standard and published in book form as The Unicode Standard, the latest version of Unicode consists of a repertoire of more than 107,000, the sharp symbol (♯) is at code point U+266F. Its HTML entity is ♯. The double sharp symbol (𝄪) is at U+1D12A. These characters may not display correctly in all fonts.

A quarter sharp, indicating the use of quarter tones A quarter tone play is an interval about half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which is half a whole tone, may be marked with various symbols including: .

See also

Musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system which represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols and development In European classical music, musical development is a process by which a musical idea is communicated in the course of a composition. It refers to the transformation and restatement of initial material, and is often contrasted with musical variation, which is a slightly different means to the same end. Development is carried out upon portions of
Staff In standard Western musical notation, the staff or stave is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces, each of which represents a different musical pitch, or, in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments. Appropriate music symbols, depending upon the intended effect, are placed on the staff according to their Bar & Bar line In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by a time signature (such as 3/4) · Clef A clef is a musical symbol used to indicate the pitch of written notes. Placed on one of the lines at the beginning of the staff, it indicates the name and pitch of the notes on that line. This line serves as a reference point by which the names of the notes on any other line or space of the staff may be determined · Da Capo Da Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music. In small pieces this might be the same thing as a repeat, but in larger works D.C. might occur after one or more repeats of small sections, indicating a return to the very · Dal Segno In music notation, Dal segno (often abbreviated D.S.) is used as a navigation marker. From Italian for "from the sign," D.S. appears in sheet music and instructs a musician to repeat a passage starting from the sign shown at right, sometimes called the "segno" in English · Key signature In musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental. Key signatures are generally written immediately after the clef at the beginning of a line of · Ledger line A ledger line or leger line is musical notation to inscribe notes outside the lines and spaces of the regular musical staffs. A line slightly longer than the note is drawn parallel to the staff, above or below, spaced at the same distances as the notes within the staff · Musical mode In addition, from the end of the eighteenth century, the term began to be used in ethnomusicological contexts to describe pitch structures in non-European musical cultures, sometimes with doubtful compatibility · Musical scale In music, a scale is a group of musical notes collected in ascending and descending order, that provides material for or is used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical work including melody and/or harmony. Scales are ordered in pitch or pitch class, with their ordering providing a measure of musical distance · Rehearsal letter A rehearsal letter is a boldface letter of the alphabet in an orchestral score, and its corresponding parts, that provides a convenient spot from which to resume rehearsal after a break. Rehearsal letters are most often used in scores of the Romantic era, beginning with Louis Spohr. They may also be generically called rehearsal marks or rehearsal · Repeat sign In music, a repeat sign is the sign which indicates a section should be repeated. If the piece has one repeat sign alone, then that means to repeat from the beginning, and then continue on . A corresponding sign facing the other way indicates where the repeat is to begin. These are analogous to the instructions da capo and dal segno · Time signature The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat · Transposition In music transposition refers to the process of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval. For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key. Similarly, one might transpose a tone row or an unordered collection of pitches such as a chord so that it begins on another pitch. See also Transposing · Transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which written notes are read at a pitch different from concert pitch, which a non-transposing instrument, such as a piano, would play. On a transposing instrument, a concert C is written as a different note; the concert pitch that is played for a written C determines the key that an instrument
Notes Notes are the "atoms" of much Western music: discretizations of musical phenomena that facilitate performance, comprehension, and analysis Accidental In music, an accidental is a note whose pitch is not a member of a scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the symbols used to mark such notes, sharps (♯), flats (♭), and naturals (♮), may also be called accidentals. An accidental sign raises or lowers the following note from its normal pitch, (Flat In music, flat, or Bemolle, means "lower in pitch." More specifically, in music notation, flat means "lower in pitch by a semitone ," and has an associated symbol (♭), which is a stylised lowercase "b" . The Unicode character '♭' (U+266D) is the flat sign. Its HTML entity is ♭ · Natural In musical notation, a natural sign is an accidental sign used to cancel a flat or sharp from either a preceding note or the key signature. If a bar contains a double sharp or double flat accidental and the composer wishes to denote the same note with only a single sharp or flat, a natural sign traditionally precedes the (single) sharp or flat · Sharp) · Dotted note In Western musical notation, a dotted note is a note with a small dot written after it. The dot adds a half as much again to the basic note's duration. If the basic note lasts 2 beats, the corresponding dotted note lasts 3 beats. A dotted note is equivalent to writing the basic note tied to a note of half the value, or with more than one dots, · Grace note A grace note is a kind of music notation used to denote several kinds of musical ornaments. When occurring by itself, a single grace note normally indicates the intention of either an appoggiatura or an acciaccatura. When they occur in groups, grace notes can be interpreted to indicate any of several different classes of ornamentation, depending · Note value In music notation, a note value indicates the relative duration of a note, using the color or shape of the note head, the presence or absence of a stem, and the presence or absence of flags (Beam A beam in musical notation is a thick line frequently used to connect multiple consecutive eighth notes , or notes of shorter value (indicated by two or more beams), and occasionally rests. Beamed notes or rests are groups of notes and rests connected by a beam; the use of beams is called beaming · Note head In music, a note head is the elliptical part of a note. Noteheads may be coloured completely black or white, indicating the note value . In a whole note, the note head is the only component of the note. Shorter note values attach a stem to the note head, and possibly beams or flags. The longer double whole note can be written with vertical lines · Stem Stems are the lines which extend from the notehead. Stems may point up or down. Different-facing stems indicate the voice for polyphonic music written on the same staff. For single-note melodies, the stems usually point down for notes on the middle line or higher, and up for those below. If the stem points up from a notehead, the stem originates) · Pitch Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the four major auditory attributes of sounds along with loudness, timbre and sound source location. When the actual fundamental frequency can be precisely determined through physical measurement, it may differ from the perceived pitch because of overtones, also known as · Rest A rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a sign indicating the length of the pause. Each rest symbol corresponds with a particular note value: · Interval In music theory, the term interval describes the relationship between the pitches of two notes · Letter notation
Articulation Dynamics · Ornament (Trill · Mordent · Grace note) · Ossia · Portato · Accent · Legato · Tenuto · Marcato · Staccato · Staccatissimo · Tie · Slur · Fermata
Development Coda · Exposition · Harmony · Melody · Motif · Recapitulation · Rhythm (Beat · Meter · Tempo) · Theme · Tonality · Atonality
Related Chord chart · Figured bass · Graphic notation · Lead sheet · Eye music · Modern musical symbols · Neume · Tablature

Categories: Musical notation | Pitch (music)

 

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