This document provides a summary of key musical concepts related to pitch, including: 1) Pitch refers to how high or low a musical note is. It is measured by its frequency in units called Hertz. 2) The standard tuning note is A above middle C, which vibrates at 440 Hz. 3) There are 7 letters (A-G) used to name notes in the Western musical alphabet, which repeats in octaves up and down the range of instruments. 4) Clefs like treble and bass clef assign letter names to lines and spaces on the musical staff and allow notes to be visually represented.

1. FUNDAMENTALS OF MUSIC Chapter One – Pitch The term " pitch " is used in music to describe the aspect of music that is high or low (i.e. A singer can sing a high note or a low note) This should not be confused with loud or soft but instead is a description of a high pitch (like a child's voice) or a low pitch (like a man with a deep voice)

5. Many of the examples used throughout music focus on the note "C". Because of this fact it is sometimes useful to think of the music alphabet as being arranged as follows: C D E F G A B That arrangement of the note names creates a common scale called the C major scale .

9. Keyboard landmarks A-440 is the first A note above middle C on the piano. The diagram below shows A-440 in relation to middle C.

10. Guitar landmarks note: The guitar sounds one octave lower than it is written. Because of this fact, the notation of the above note will appear to be one octave higher than the corresponding note on the piano.

13. Two Clefs used are the TREBLE CLEF and BASS CLEF Each clef assigns different letters to the staff positions. (i.e. The bottom line in treble clef is "E" and the bottom line in bass clef is "G".)

19. Once the fourth line is defined as F then the other line and space locations are defined using an alphabetical sequence;

20. F (space below the staff) G (bottom line) A (first space) B (second line) C (second space) D (third line) E (third space) F (fourth line) G (fourth space) A (top line) B (space above the staff).

22. (spaces from bottom to top) All Cows Eat Grass ( A C E G )

23. Grand Staff or Great Staff

27. Notes on ledger lines (and spaces) above the staff in treble clef

28. Notes on ledger lines (and spaces) below the staff in treble clef

29. Notes on ledger lines (and spaces) below the staff in bass clef

30. Notes on ledger lines (and spaces) above the staff in bass clef

32. When middle C is used in a phrase that includes notes in the treble clef then the ledger line is placed closer to the treble clef staff. Likewise, when the note is part of a phrase in the bass clef staff then the ledger line will be closer to the bass clef staff.

43. The interval of a half-step occurs between any note (white key or black key) and its immediate adjacent neighbor. Most white keys have a black key the interval of one half-step away except for the half-step intervals between B-C and E-F (there is no black key between B and C or between E and F). All black keys have a white key the interval of one half-step away.

45. The following animation shows a series of whole steps, first from the note C then from the note C#.

48. Another landmark white key lies to the immediate left of the group of 3 black keys. Those white keys are called "F"

49. The other letter names of the musical alphabet are assigned to the remaining white keys as shown below. (from left to right C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,A and B) Using the treble clef, the letter names are C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,A and B.

50. Using the bass clef, the letter names are also C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,A and B. These notes are two octaves lower than the notes shown above in Treble Clef. The pattern is repeated up and down the full range of the keyboard .

52. First the notes that have "sharp" names. B# C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C# D# E# F# G# A# B#

54. The notes with "flat" names are shown below. Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb

59. Note Values

62. Dotted notes

64. Ties

68. two count rhythms

69. three count rhythms

70. four count rhythms