Music notes: names, symbols and values
Music uses seven note names, C, D, E, F, G, A and B, which repeat in every octave. Five more sounds sit between them, which gives twelve different notes in all. In this guide, we'll start with those names, on the staff and on the keyboard, and then see the two things a written note tells you: its position gives the pitch, and its shape gives the duration.
The 7 note names
The musical alphabet runs A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and then it starts again. On the piano, people usually learn it from C: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Each time it repeats, you're an octave higher, and a number tells you which octave you're in. Middle C is C4, and the A that orchestras tune to is A4.
Press a key: you hear the sound and see its name and its place on the staff.
The 12 notes: sharps and flats
Now let's look at the black keys. They take their names from their neighbors, with a sharp, written ♯, which means a half step higher, or a flat, written ♭, which means a half step lower. C♯ and D♭ are the same key: two names for one sound, which we call enharmonic equivalents. Only E and F, and B and C, have no black key between them, because they're already a half step apart.
| # | Note | Other name | Solfège (Europe) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | B♯ | do |
| 2 | C♯ | D♭ | do♯ or ré♭ |
| 3 | D | ré | |
| 4 | D♯ | E♭ | ré♯ or mi♭ |
| 5 | E | F♭ | mi |
| 6 | F | E♯ | fa |
| 7 | F♯ | G♭ | fa♯ or sol♭ |
| 8 | G | sol | |
| 9 | G♯ | A♭ | sol♯ or la♭ |
| 10 | A | la | |
| 11 | A♯ | B♭ | la♯ or si♭ |
| 12 | B | C♭ | si |
Note symbols and values
| Note | Looks like | Beats in 4/4 | UK name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | open head, no stem | 4 | semibreve |
| Half note | open head with stem | 2 | minim |
| Quarter note | filled head with stem | 1 | crotchet |
| Eighth note | filled head, one flag | ½ | quaver |
| Sixteenth note | filled head, two flags | ¼ | semiquaver |
Each row lasts exactly one whole note. Click a row to hear it over 4 metronome beats: each value is half of the one above.
Keep in mind that the shape never changes the pitch. A whole note and an eighth note on the same line sound the same pitch: one is long, the other short. Rests have the same values, and they mark silence.