1/4: Notes

What is a Note?

Notes or pitches are one of music's most important dimensions. They determine how high or low a sound is.

In western music, the entire pitch spectrum is categorized into 12 notes that repeat over and over again, in different octaves:

Octave 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Octave 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

These 12 notes are the building blocks of western harmony and melody. They form scales, chords, harmonic progressions and melodic lines.