MUSI 1107 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Chromatic Scale, Major Scale, Microtonal Music
Document Summary
Pitches are named with a letter from a-g, with the letters simply starting again once you reach an octave. Whenever we hear any two notes an octave apart we recognize that they sound the same. In western music, an octave is divided into twelve equal semitones, or half steps, from there different scales are built. The chromatic scale includes the twelve half steps that make up the octave. It can be seen on the keyboard, counting all the white and black keys from c to the c above it. The black keys on the piano are named in relation to their white-key neighbors, as a sharp or flat. A sharp ( ) raises a note by a half step, while a flat ( ) lowers a note a half step. Two half steps make up a whole step. The key is the pitch level of a piece.
