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Helmholtz pitch notation is a music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
al system for naming note
Note

In music, the term note has two primary meanings: 1) a sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound; and 2) a pitched sound itself....
s of the Western
Western music

Western music is the genres of music originating in the Western world including European classical music, American Jazz, Country and Western, pop music and rock and roll....
 chromatic scale
Chromatic scale

The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve Pitch es, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a diatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step interval ," having, "no tonic ," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
. Developed by the German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 scientist Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann von Helmholtz

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a Germany physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science....
, it uses a combination of upper and lower case letters (A to G), and the sub- and super-prime
Prime (symbol)

The prime symbol , double prime symbol , triple prime symbol etc. are used to designate several different units, and for various other purposes in mathematics, the sciences and linguistics....
 symbols ( ? ′ ) to describe 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
Scientific pitch notation

Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western music chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidental , and a number identifying the Pitch 's octave....
.

holtz developed 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
Alexander John Ellis

Alexander John Ellis was an England mathematician and philology. He changed his name from his father's name Sharpe to his mother's maiden name Ellis in 1825, based on a condition for receiving significant financial support from a relative on his mother's side....
 as On the Sensations of Tone (1875).






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Helmholtz pitch notation is a music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
al system for naming note
Note

In music, the term note has two primary meanings: 1) a sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound; and 2) a pitched sound itself....
s of the Western
Western music

Western music is the genres of music originating in the Western world including European classical music, American Jazz, Country and Western, pop music and rock and roll....
 chromatic scale
Chromatic scale

The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve Pitch es, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a diatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step interval ," having, "no tonic ," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
. Developed by the German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 scientist Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann von Helmholtz

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a Germany physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science....
, it uses a combination of upper and lower case letters (A to G), and the sub- and super-prime
Prime (symbol)

The prime symbol , double prime symbol , triple prime symbol etc. are used to designate several different units, and for various other purposes in mathematics, the sciences and linguistics....
 symbols ( ? ′ ) to describe 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
Scientific pitch notation

Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western music chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidental , and a number identifying the Pitch 's octave....
.

History

Helmholtz developed 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
Alexander John Ellis

Alexander John Ellis was an England mathematician and philology. He changed his name from his father's name Sharpe to his mother's maiden name Ellis in 1825, based on a condition for receiving significant financial support from a relative on his mother's side....
 as On the Sensations of Tone (1875). The system is now used widely by musicians across Europe, and by scientists and doctors when discussing the scientific and medical aspects of sound in relation to the auditory system
Auditory system

The auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing ....
.

Usage

The Helmholtz scale always starts on C and ends at B (C, D, E, F, G, A, B). The note C is shown in different octaves in the following sequence: C?? C? C c c′ c″ c″′ and so on.

Middle C
Middle C

C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solf?ge.In Western music, the expression "Middle C" refers to the musical note "C" located exactly between the two staff of the grand staff and near the top and bottom, respectively, of the bass voice and soprano voices....
 is designated c′, therefore the octave
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
 upwards from middle c is c′-b′.

Each octave
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
 is also given a name based on the "German method" (see below). For example, the octave from c′-b′ is called the one-line octave.

Variations

  • The English multiple C notation uses repeated Cs in place of the sub-prime symbol. Therefore C? is rendered as CC.
  • The German method replaces the "prime" with a horizontal bar above the letter.
While this method looks very similar to the ABC notation of music, currently used mainly in the notation of folk music, differences do exist.

Staff representation

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).

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