What Musical Note is That?

Sounds
In nature, there are many different sounds,
which are audible, ie. can be heard by the human ear.

Notes
Some sounds are harmonic.
This means that they "reverberate", in a pleasant way to the ear.
These harmonic sounds are otherwise known as "notes".

Harmonic objects
Harmonic sounds will be obvious to anyone who owns a harmonic object -
Harmonic objects can include,
    Tools - such as some saws,
                   which can "sing" when sawing something
              - I have a tablespoon,
                    which produces a harmonic note when it is struck on a surface,
                    such as a bench top
    Rocks - such as porous volcanic rock,
                    which can produce a harmonic note when struck by another object,
                    because of the increased air pockets within it




So, what are the harmonic "musical notes"?

At present, the most common way of representing the notes, is this -

This is based on an individual,
basic pattern of  12  ascending (low to high) notes -

                                                           b    -    means      "flat"
                                                           #    -    means      "sharp"



                       Notes such as -          

                                                           A#    and    Bb            are the same note,
                                                                                              written two different ways




These  12  notes, each with it's own distinct character,
repeat over  4  octaves (pitches), each octave (pitch) being a higher sound -



              |   A  ,  A#/Bb  ,  B  ,  C  ,  C#/Db  ,  D  ,  D#/Eb  ,  E  ,  F  , F#/Gb  ,  G  ,  G#/Ab
      ____|_____________________________________________________________________
              |
        4    |
              |
        3    |
              |
        2    |
              |
        1    |
              |




Vocal notes
If you like to sing,
you can work out what notes that you are singing,
if you have a musical instrument "tuner",
or musical instrument,
which you can use to compare with the note that you are singing.

Notes on "Tuners" and Musical Instruments
If you have a tuner,
it should show you what note is being played,
      -  on it  -  if it is manual, so that you can use that as a comparison
      -  close to it  -  if it is electronic.

If you have a musical instrument,
it's very useful, if you have a book or have done a course
on how to use the instrument.
In these ways,
you can familiarise yourself with your instrument,
and where the notes are,
so that you can use these as a comparison,
or, to know the notes that you are playing.



Identifying a musical note
In these ways,
you can identify the notes that you are singing or playing.



(c) Katherine Stuart 2015