Helmholtz pitch notation
Helmholtz pitch notation is a system for naming musical notes of the Western chromatic scale. Fully described and normalized by the German scientist Hermann von Helmholtz, it uses a combination of upper and lower case letters (A to G),Template:Efn and the sub- and super-prime symbols ( ͵ Template:Prime or ⸜ ⸝) to denote each individual note of the scale. It is one of two formal systems for naming notes in a particular octave, the other being scientific pitch notation.[1]Script error: No such module "Unsubst".Template:Efn
History
Helmholtz proposed this system in order to accurately define pitches in his classical work on acoustics Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik (1863) translated into English by A.J. Ellis as On the Sensations of Tone (1875).[2][3]Template:Efn
Helmholtz based his notation on the practice of German organ builders for labelling their pipes, itself derived from the old German organ tablature in use from late medieval times until the early 18th century. His system is widely used by musicians across Europe and is the one used in the New Grove Dictionary.[2] Once also widely used by scientists and doctors when discussing the scientific and medical aspects of sound in relation to the auditory system, it has now been replaced in the US in scientific and medical contexts by scientific pitch notation.[4]Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Use
The accenting of the scale in Helmholtz notation always starts on the note C and ends at B (e.g. C D E F G A B). The note C is shown in different octaves by using upper-case letters for low notes, and lower-case letters for high notes, and adding sub-primes and primes in the following sequence: C͵͵ C͵ C c cTemplate:Prime cTemplate:Pprime c‴ (or ,,C ,C C c cTemplate:Prime cTemplate:Pprime c‴ or C⸜⸜ C⸜ C c c⸝ c⸝⸝ c⸝⸝⸝) and so on.
Middle C is designated cTemplate:Prime, therefore the octave from middle C upwards is cTemplate:Prime–bTemplate:Prime.
Variations
| Octave | Helmholtz | Helmholtz (English) |
Helmholtz (numbered) |
ABC | Lilypond | SPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <score>{ \clef bass \ottava #-1 c,,,1 }</score> | C͵͵ or ͵͵C | CCC | C₂ or ₂C | C,,,, |
c,,, |
C₀ |
| <score>{ \clef bass c,,1 }</score> | C͵ or ͵C | CC | C₁ or ₁C | C,,, |
c,, |
C₁ |
| <score>{ \clef bass c,1 }</score> | C | C | C | C,, |
c, |
C₂ |
| <score>{ \clef bass c1 }</score> | c | c | c | C, |
c |
C₃ |
| <score>{ \clef treble c'1 }</score> | c′ | c′ | c¹ | C |
c' |
C₄ |
| <score>{ \clef treble c1 }</score> | c′′ | c′′ | c² | c |
c'' |
C₅ |
| <score>{ \clef treble c1 }</score> | c′′′ | c′′′ | c³ | c' |
c''' |
C₆ |
| <score>{ \clef treble c'1 }</score> | c′′′′ | c′′′′ | c⁴ | c'' |
c'''' |
C₇ |
| <score>{ \clef treble \ottava #1 c1 }</score> | c′′′′′ | c′′′′′ | c⁵ | c''' |
c''''' |
C₈ |
- The English multiple-letter notation uses repeated Cs in place of the sub-prime symbol. Therefore C͵ is rendered as CC ; C͵͵ as CCC ; etc.[4] This has notation has appeared in some part names for contrabass instruments, for example, the "CC Contrabass Tuba" or the "BB♭ Contrabass Clarinet".
- The English strokes notation replaces subscript-primes with underlines and superscript primes with overlines: C͵͵ is rendered as C͇ ; C͵ as Template:Underline ; cTemplate:Prime as c̄ and cTemplate:Pprime as c̿ ; etc. Because the typesetting is difficult this notation has fallen out of use.Template:Efn
- Primes in subscript and superscript may be replaced with digits, indicating the number of primes.Template:Efn For example, ͵͵C can be written as C2 or 2C, and cTemplate:Pprime written as c2 (but not 2c).Template:Efn
- A system of pitch designation using uppercase and lowercase letters, commas and apostrophes, formally identical to Helmholtz pitch notation but shifted by two octaves, is used for ABC notation.Template:Efn In ABC, the notes
C,andC(middle C) andcrepresent Helmholtz c and Template:Prime and Template:Pprime respectively. - LilyPond music publishing software uses an all-lowercase variant, also with commas and apostrophes, where pitches that would be uppercase in Helmholtz notation are written in lowercase with an additional sub-prime. Thus,
c,,,andc,,andc,represent Helmholtz C͵͵ and C͵ and C respectively.[5]
Octave and staff representation
Whole octaves may also be given a name based on "English strokes notation". For example, the octave from cTemplate:Prime–bTemplate:Prime is called the one-line octave[1] or (less common) once-accented octave.[6] Correspondingly, the notes in the octave may be called one-lined C (for cTemplate:Prime), etc.
This diagram gives examples of the lowest and highest note in each octave, giving their name in the Helmholtz system, and the "German method" of octave nomenclature. (The octave below the contra octave is known as the sub-contra octave.)
See also
Notes
References
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External links
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