What is Pitch?

Pitch refers to the relative highness or lowness of sound.

Pitches were assigned specific names. The lowest pitch, called gamma, extended to the
highest pitch, ut: the contraction of these two terms, gamut, has entered the language to mean “A
complete range or scope”.
In terms of physics, pitch refers of the specific frequency of a sound wave, which is
measured in Hertz (Hz). These frequencies correspond to musical notes in two ways.
 High Pitch: A high pitch is one that has a high-frequency vibration. Higher pitches are
represented on the treble clef of a standard musical staff. Very high pitches are several
ledger lines above the treble clef staff. On the piano keyboard, high pitch notes are sound
on the right-hand side ad usually played with the right hand. On stringed musical
instruments, they are played high on the fingerboard.
 Low Pitch: A lower-pitch note vibrates at a low frequency. On musical staves, these notes
usually appear in the tenor clef or bass clef. Low pitches are found on the left-hand side
of the piano keyboard and on the low fingerboard of string instruments.

Pitch names are letter names derived from the first seven letters of the English alphabet.
The so-fa names are so-fa syllable written as do, re, mi, so, la, ti, Do. This so-fa names are
arranged in ascending of descending order. While the corresponding numbers are equivalent,
numbers of both so-fa names and pitch names.
A. Pitch Names or Letter Names:
 C D E F G H A B C
B. So-fa Names or so-fa Syllable
 do re mi fa so la ti Do
C. Corresponding Numbers
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
How is Pitch is Measured?
Musicians measure the different pitches in music in two ways: Physical vibration and
note names.
 Physical vibration: A musical pitch corresponds with a specific sonic vibration, which is
measured in Hertz (Hz). In most Western music, the musical scale is tuned to a standard
where A4 (the above middle C) vibrates at 440 Hz. Musical frequencies double with each
octave, which means that A5 (an octave higher) vibrates at 880 Hz, and A3 ( an octave
lower) vibrates at 880 Hz, and A3 (an octave lower) vibrates at 20 Hz.
  Note names: Music theorists have devised a system of identifying pitches that gives a
letter name to each of the different notes. They the divide these notes into intervals called
semitones, or half-steps. There are 12 semitones used in Western pop and classical music.
They can be organized into groups like the major scale, the minor scale, and the
chromatic scale.
How are Pitches Named?
In Western music, theorists and musicians give each particular pitch a precise name,
based on the 12-not scale. They derive a specific pitch name from two elements: the name of the
note and the octave the note appears in. for example, the note F in the third octave of standard
music is referred to as F3. The note D# in the 5th octave is called D#5. Middle C, which is the
middle note on a piano keyboard, has the pitch name C4.
Pitches that can be clearly identifies and named are called definite pitches. Instruments
like piano, guitar, violin, and trumpet produce definite pitches. Some pitches cannot be early
identified and named; these are called indefinite pitches.
5 Examples of Pitch in Music
To understand how musicians use pitch in their everyday practice, learn some of the
common musical phrases that involve pitch.
1.Perfect pitch: A person with perfect pitch can identify any note in a scale if they have another
note as a reference point. For instance, if you play a Middle C as a relative pitch and then play
any other note, a person with perfect pitch should be able to identify the new note.
2.Absolute pitch: A person with absolute pitch can identify any musical note without needing a
reference pitch.
3.Sharp pitch: A sharp pitch is one that is a bit too high for the intended note. You can correct for
sharp pitches by re-tuning your instrument of or by adjusting your technique. Note that a sharp
key signature found in music notation; a musical sharp means that a composer wants you to play
a note that is a half-step above a note on the musical staff.
4.Flat pitch; a flat pitch is one that is a bit too low for the intended note. It is effectively the
opposite of a sharp pitch. Note that music notation also has flat notes—just like it has sharp notes
—and these notes are not the same as playing a pitch that’s accidentally too flat.
5. Diatonic pitch: a diatonic pitch, or diatonic note, is one that is part of a major scale or minor
scale. F you are playing a C major scale, the note C, D, F G, A, and B are all diatonic pitches.
The note F3 is a non-diatonic pitch in that scale, but a musician may still want to use that F# for
harmonic purposes.
The Note Letters
Pitch is communicated by a series of letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). instead of going onto
H-I, etc. it starts again A. This run of 8 notes from A-A or B-B, C-c, etc. is called an octave.
Note play is the first basic thing to learn when reading music. Instead of writing out letters on a
page, the universal way of communicating which notes are too played is via the staff.
The Staff
Staff notation built on series of 5 lines called a staff (or stave) and is foundation upon
which music is written. A note can be placed on different lines or spaces-the higher up the stave,
the higher the note sounds.

Enter Ledger lines

Ledger lines are additional lines which can be pt above or below the staves to extend the pitch
range of the stave.

But, using ledger lines still leaves us two problems.

1.Our music is going to look very confusing if we just keeps adding ledger lines above and
below the stave.
2.We still don’t know what notes are on which lines/ spaces.
The Treble Clef
Clef are symbols put at the beginning of a stave to assign specific lines/spaces to specific
pitches- in effect, they are like the key that breaks the code. The 2 most common clefs you will
come across are the Treble Clef and Bass Clef.
The easiest way to grasp what the Treble Clef does is to consider the note Middle C.
Middle c is assigned to a specific line when we put a clef at the start of the stave.
For example, if we put a Treble Clef at the start of a stave then Middle C will be on a
ledger line below the stave.
 This means that if we put a Treble Clef at the start of the stave then we can write lots of
noes above Middle without needing to use any ledger lines. As you can see below, it’s not until a
top “A” that we have to use a ledger line above Middle C.

Elements of Pitch
1.Sound
A higher or lower in pitch according to the frequency of vibration of the sounds waves
producing them. A high frequency (e.g., 880 hertz) (Hz; cycles per second) is perceived as a high
pitch and a low frequency (e.g., 55 Hz) as a low pitch.
2.Symbol
It used to describe the way a particular piece of music should be played. In which the
symbol of pitch is five-line staff (often “stave” in British usage) is used to indicate pitch.
3.Tone
In Western music, a steady sound can be referred to as a musical tone. The tone is
characterized most frequently by its pitch, such as “A” or “C,” but it also includes timbre (the
quality of the sound), duration, and even intensity (the dynamic of the sound).
References
https://2012books.lardbucket.org
Rogers, Kara. Musical Pitch. The editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica. https://www.britannica.com
Dunnet, B., (2023). How to Read Music- Getting Started. Music Theory Academy.
MasterClass (2021). Pitch in Music Explained: 5 Examples of Pitch in Music.
Kraemer, B., (20190. Different meanings of Tone in Music.
Lavoie, A., (2020). 60 Music Symbols you Need to Understand Written Music.
https://bog.landr.com
What is Timbre?
It is known as tone colour or tone quality under the field of psychoacoustics. It is also
recognized as the colour or the quality, and tone of a sound that makes it unique.
We defined timbre as the heard sound quality of a musical note, sound, or tone. Timbre
can distinguish several sound productions, such as choir voices, musical instruments, using
instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments.
Timbre also enables listeners to distinguish different instruments in the same category
(same pitch and frequency). Timbre also considers the melodious human voice. This category of
timbre is vocal timbre or a voice timbre.
Some examples of timbre are the ways used to express the sound, so terms like Flat,
Light, Smooth, Smoky, Breathy, and Rough are what you use to differentiate one sound from
another. How you recognize various sounds or voices you hear is attributed to the timbre (voice
timbre).
Different Types of Voice Timbre
 Soprano-These singers sing in very high octaves.
 Mezzo-These singers sing in the middle range.
 Alto-Alto is the lowest of the female voices.
 Bass-It is broken up by high and low voices.
 Tenor-It is a male voice type.
 Contralto-We consider this voice as a middle voice.
 Treble-It is a word for a child’s voice.
Dark Timbre
A novice person singing with a low voice is considered to have a dark timbre. We
generally consider these terms in situations where a singer uses a low voice while singing at a
concert for the first time in public.
Dark tone is considered as the dark timber, whereas pop or rocky music is considered the
light tone or the light timbre. The way you use your mouth can vary or alter the sound that is
projected from your voice.
Types of Timbre
 Hamonic- A concert where all the musicians are playing their instruments in the same
rhythm.
 Polyphonic- In the case, independent musical parts overlap.
 Monophonic-In this scene, a single musical line is played.
 Accompanimental-It means accompanying a good quality.
References:
NCERT (2023). An Introduction to Timbre. Vedantu Master Classes.

Prepared by:
ALONA JOYCE F. ALFONSO GLAIZA GWYNE G. JACOB
LYCA D. ALIWA BRENT JIREH C. MERTO
MAY ANN D. BALAO MARICEL MANUEL
CHRIZZAN JOY D. CAMARAO LENIE ROSE MALICNAS
JOCELYN T. FELIX LAICA MAE PINILIW

Reviewed by:
DEEVAYN BANGAYAN
SUBJECT INSTRUCTOR