XMind

1. Staves, Clefs & Pitch Notation

1. The Grand Staff

   1. Naming the Notes

      1. note sign

      2. note

      3. notation

      4. solfa

      5. B & H

         1. In almost all European countries, except those whose main language is English or a Romance language, the 'German' system is used. This also uses the letters A to G of the Roman alphabet, but reserves B for the note called B flat in the 'English' system, and uses H for the note that is B natural (or just B) in the 'English' system.

      6. pitch class

      7. octave equivalency

   2. Staff or Stave

      1. staff or stave

      2. numbering of lines/spaces

      3. systemic barline

      4. diastematic

         1. Describing a musical notation in which the pitch of a note is represented by its vertical position on the page

      5. ledger lines

2. The Clef Sign

   1. clef, clef sign, clef signature

   2. Great Staff, Grand Staff, Great Stave or Grand Stave

   3. treble clef

   4. bass clef

   5. alto clef

   6. middle C

3. The Treble Clef

   1. treble clef

   2. G clef

   3. violin clef

   4. E G B D F

   5. F A C E

4. The Bass Clef

   1. bass clef

   2. F clef

   3. G B D F A

   4. A C E G

5. The Alto Clef

   1. alto clef

   2. viola clef

   3. counter-tenor clef

6. Other Clefs

   1. soprano clef

   2. mezzo-soprano clef

   3. tenor clef

   4. baritone clef

   5. subbass clef

   6. French violin clef

      1. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a special clef was used for violin music, particularly that published in France. For this reason it is known as the French violin clef, French clef or G1 clef, although it was more commonly used for flute music. Being a G clef rather than a C clef, it sets the position of the G above middle C - in this case, on the bottom line of the five line stave.

   7. indefinite pitch clef

7. The Score

8. Why Middle C?

   1. The naming of the notes and position of middle C arise from the way we set out our great staff. Guido d'Arezzo (c.995-1050) called the first line on the lower staff by the Greek letter gamma. The lowest note in the scale was called ut and was placed on gamma. This first note was soon called gamma ut, which contracted to gamut. At some point, French musicians began referring to the whole scale (by then an octave) as the gamut, a typical example of metonymy, the rhetorical or metaphorical substitution of a one thing for another based on their association or proximity. The term was next extended to refer to the musical range of an instrument or voice. By the seventeenth century gamut was further generalized to mean an entire range of any kind.

   2. Guido d'Arezzo

   3. gamut

   4. solmization

   5. Ut Queant Laxis

   6. ut re mi fa sol la

   7. hexachord

9. Scientific Pitch Notation

   1. distinguishing octaves