Musical Note Names in the USA and UK - Music Theory

[@MusicMattersGB]

Learn Music Online - Check out our courses here! www.mmcourses.co.uk/courses

[@wellurban]

Having grown up with the UK system, it was only a couple of years ago that I realised that the other one was actually a US standard. I’d assumed that it was something that had been devised by music technology engineers, since I saw it on sequencers and drum machines, and it also seemed like something an engineer familiar with binary numbers would have come up with. I presumed that everyone who learned classical music theory learned the crotchet system, whereas people familiar with electronic music adopted the quarter-note system, and it hadn’t occurred to me that the latter was actually formally taught in much of the world! It makes much more sense, though, so I’m happy that it’s become more widespread.

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@catherinehu7079]

Finally I understood why the whole note is called semi breve. Been wondering where is the semi from for a long time. Thank you for your teaching.

[@MusicMattersGB]

A pleasure. Much more to help at www.mmcourses.co.uk

[@MarketGarden87]

It always takes me an extra second to translate the note names from UK to USA. Our way is more straight forward 😆

[@MusicMattersGB]

I agree!

[@edinatl2008]

I love the differences between UK and US English! Thanks for helping us all out!

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@politereminder6284]

I grew up in the UK system, then I went to a university that uses the American system. I was so confused ,😭😭😭. My lecturer taught music theory by reading the text book aloud in class. 👀 All words, no notation! 😳. To make it worse, he refused to share the course outline with me, so I was eternally lost. 🥺 It's not fun when you are learning advanced music theory.😅

[@politereminder6284]

You must be a member the video is 4 days old, but your comment is 4 months old. 🤔

[@GuilhermeSrfn]

Portuguese nomenclature (in Brazil, at least) is closer to UK's version than USA's (and remarkably close to Italian): breve, semibreve, mínima, semínima, colcheia, semicolcheia, fusa and semifusa.

[@MusicMattersGB]

Excellent

[@husastra]

Actually, a lot of countries have the same system as the US, both Germany and the Nordic countries use it, too - and I'd expect that the system isn't original to the US but rather that the US adopted it from other countries.

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@eudyptes5046]

Yes, this is very Anglo-American centric;-)

[@MusicMattersGB]

Fair enough. Good to hear from others about other countries

[@El_Molzo]

This is a bit like metric sytem vs imperial, where on one side 100cm make a meter and on the other side 17 pflongs make a kniddle.

[@El_Molzo]

But, as always, great video!

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@DGaryGrady]

Except it's 15 pflongs in a Troy kniddle, but that's only used for gold and small kippered herrings.

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@BesseDenmark]

Really useful lesson for a foreigner ! I'm Polish (this lady in my avatar was British however) and of course we have our own names for those notes but we definitely stick to US system. We say: cała nuta, półnuta, ćwierćnuta etc. ; cała means whole, pół means half, ćwierć means quarter, nuta of course means note.

[@MusicMattersGB]

Very interesting

[@AbdulazizShabakouh]

The French terms: Carrée Ronde Blanche Noire Croche Double croche Triple croche Quadruple croche Sextuple croche

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@DGaryGrady]

Ronde, blanche, et noire make sense in terms of describing how the notation looks -- whole note = round, half note = white, quarter note = black.

[@MusicMattersGB]

@@DGaryGrady 😀

[@suedemutant8196]

This is like hemi demi semi quaver to me 😄

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@josephinebrown6631]

Thank you kindly.

[@MusicMattersGB]

A pleasure

[@brittanysrecordshop3991]

Wow. This is helpful. This makes much more sense now. Thank you 😊

[@MusicMattersGB]

That’s great

[@Em_2274]

This video is very helpful. Our teacher usually teaches us in both British and Americans. Thank you.

[@MusicMattersGB]

That’s great

[@Nieciej]

1. I never heard about Double Whole Note. 2. In Poland we have whole, half, quarter notes, etc. and I never heard about UK system - I learned something new today - thank you. 3. We have black B (replacing H-es) and H replacing "western" B. I hate that german system. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀Happy Christmas to you too.

[@misakiwakahisa5640]

Here in Belgium (the flemish side) we use the US names but in Dutch. I'm not used with the UK names

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@tomhase7007]

It's a bit anglo-centric to call the international standard naming scheme the "American one". Historically it would probably be more correct to call it the Italian, German or French naming system, but since everybody outside Britain and some of its former colonies agrees on it, I guess one should just call it the "international standard system". Also, while a quarter note always has the value of one beat, irrespective of the time signature, in some variants of the modern international system the whole note always lasts one bar, irrespective of the metrum. Thus in 3/4 time it would last 3 quarter notes, not 4. Of course this convention does not apply to early music, but it explains the term "whole note".

[@MusicMattersGB]

The whole note lasting a bar is true of rests but not of notes.

[@upsideken9385]

My music teacher uses both system when talking about notes 😂

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@Stormsteed]

Adding up the note values of a measure seems to be a much more genuinely mathematical exercise with the American system; ergo, easier.

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@Isamolle]

Thanks!

[@MusicMattersGB]

Glad it’s helpful. Much more at www.mmcourses.co.uk

[@yoghurt3643]

So if you‘d released that on April‘s fool day, I never would have believed there is such a thing as a „hemi demi semi quaver“. But it‘s December, so I take that just as another proof of what an ignorant clod I am.

[@MusicMattersGB]

Not ignorant at all. Just useful to know

[@DGaryGrady]

Here in the U.S. I remember first hearing hemidemisemiquaver many decades ago, probably in school, and thinking it was a wonderful name. The New Yorker magazine used to have (and maybe still does) the occasional filler about some bit of strange (at least to Americans) British news headlined "There'll always be an England." The British note names always put me in mind of that expression. For some reason I can still do arithmetic in pounds, shillings, and pence (and farthings for that matter) and I have no idea when or why I learned to do that. I was a strange kid. It wasn't that I needed to know it; my first trip to England was in 1974, after decimalization, though they still had the conversion charts up in shops. In the mid-1960s, I think, the official conversion rate was one pound = 2.40 dollars, which meant an old penny (d) was worth 1 U.S, cent. (There were 20 shillings to the pound and 12 pence to the shilling, hence 240 pence to the pound.) The UK could have decimalized on that basis and gone to 100 d = one British dollar, which is pretty much what Australia did. But of course that would never have happened! (Which reminds me that Canada's Rhino Party proposed casting off U.S. cultural imperialism by switching over to the Commonwealth convention of driving on the left. They admitted that in practical terms this would be too drastic a change to put into effect all in one go, so during the first year the new law would apply only to trucks.)

[@MusicMattersGB]

@@DGaryGrady Interesting

[@basslobster]

The British system = LoL. In Sweden we use translation of the American system. Thank God 😂

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@basslobster]

Although, it's good to know. So I found this "lesson" very helpful, and I will memorize them. Great channel btw. Love it 👍 Cheers from 🇸🇪

[@MusicMattersGB]

A pleasure. Much more at www.mmcourses.co.uk including details of our online courses and of our exciting Maestros programme. If you value this channel and would like to help us continue to share and develop the content please consider supporting us as a level 1 Maestro by clicking here kzbin.info/door/8yI8P7Zi3yYTsypera-IQgjoin Alternatively you can express your support for the channel by clicking on the Super Thanks button beneath any of our videos. Thank you.

[@mypianotutorial2023]

In German it is quite similar than in the US system. Thanks very much for your efforts in comparing English and US systems!

[@MusicMattersGB]

It’s a pleasure

[@ronkelley5348]

Probably biased because I'm a Brit and I do a lot of early music... I understand why the US system does what it does, and at one level it is logical, but I feel it's making an assumption that everything is based around 4 beats... (you have a 3/4 time signature and start talking about 'quarter notes'... I know what it's saying, but...) If you are involved with Renaissance or Medieval music you are going to encounter much longer note lengths such as a longa. Breve came from 'brevis' meaning 'short'.... (and time signatures struggle with the longer note values)

[@MusicMattersGB]

Interesting perspective

[@thesimplestoic]

"It's all maths". Yep, recently realised why I drove my poor maths teacher mad. When we first started studying fractions I never wrote down my workings. When I told him I couldn't, because I didn't know how I did it, he accused me of cheating. So, I challenged him to test me, he did, I did them in front of him, but still couldn't tell him how. I've realised, some 30ish + years later, why. I started to learn to read/play music long before I learned to do fractions. There are a lot of adding factions when you start including dotted and double dotted notes. I'd learned to do it, but not in a way that can be written down mathematically.

[@MusicMattersGB]

Interesting

[@tpiano1165]

And a 256th note is a demisemihemidemisemiquaver!

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀😀

[@Benjybass]

The main difference between French and British systems of musical notation in comparison to the one used in the US, is that the first 2 are strictly VISUAL. A beginner will be lost in the fog when trying to capture the rhythmic pulse represented by the symbols of these first 2 systems. How can one's eyes count a "ronde", a "blanche" a "noire", or a "crotchet" and "quaver", in relation to time? The US system being mathematical, allows the entire body to move within a "whole" beat--cut that beat into 4 equal parts and you get 4 notes that are "quartered" etc.. This is when a student starts to feel the groove!

[@MusicMattersGB]

There is much truth in this although French or English people would normally count in beats by number rather than by using crotchet or noire.

[@matt_phistopheles]

Fascinating. How does it continue in the uk? Is a 1/128th note a super hemi demi semi quaver?

[@MusicMattersGB]

Hemidemisemiquaver is as far as we go really!

[@tpiano1165]

After hemidemisemiquaver, it goes semihemidemisemiquaver, demisemihemidemisemiquaver - that's how far wikipedia goes, but i guess you could go to hemidemisemihemidemisemiquaver - which is a 512th note!

[@MusicMattersGB]

@@tpiano1165 It becomes a mathematical possibility rather than a musical reality.

[@tpiano1165]

@@MusicMattersGB That's true. However, I think it would be much easier to go with the US system here in UK. Make a much more sense in my opinion

[@MusicMattersGB]

There’s more logic certainly

[@scarlettrhettforever]

Why different note names? Why not same names as uk and Australia. USA I find it confusing eg eighth note.

[@MusicMattersGB]

Different countries follow different traditions.

[@politereminder6284]

I grew up in the UK system, then I went to a music university that uses the American system. I was so confused ,😭😭😭. My lecturer taught music theory by reading the text book aloud in class. 👀 All words, no notation. 😅. To make it worse, he refused to share the course outline with me, so I was eternally lost. 😅 It's not fun when you are learning advanced music theory.

[@MusicMattersGB]

Not the best way to learn!

[@politereminder6284]

@@MusicMattersGB I don't think I'll go back there next semester after a year and a half of this kind of teaching. It's the method of throwing one , unexpectedly, into the pool in the name of "teaching" them to swim. I've also found the analysis and Analytical listening classes insufficient. I will probably buy some of your advanced courses to fill in those gaps. Merry Christmas By the Way! Thanks for your wonderful channel. 😁

[@MusicMattersGB]

We have plenty of courses to help you. Happy Christmas to you too.

[@xtolhim]

I think I found the names for my next four pets. ;)

[@MusicMattersGB]

Excellent!

[@JosephPGrima]

What are italian notes called..................

[@MusicMattersGB]

English French German Italian Spanish A flat la bémol as la bemolle la bemol A la A la la A sharp la dièse ais la diesis la sostenido B flat si bémol B si bemolle si bemol B si H si si C flat do bémol ces do bemolle do bemol C ut/do C do do C sharp do dièse cis do diesis do sostenido D flat ré bémol des re bemolle re bemol D ré D re re D sharp ré dièse dis re diesis re sostenido E flat mi bémol es mi bemolle mi bemol E mi E mi mi F fa F fa fa F sharp fa dièse fis fa diesis fa sostenido G flat sol bémol ges sol bemolle sol bemol G sol G sol sol G sharp sol dièse gis sol diesis sol sostenido

[@DGaryGrady]

@@MusicMattersGB I had read that B is H in German (and some other northern European languages) but not that English B-flat is B in German!

[@MusicMattersGB]

@@DGaryGrady All designed to cause confusion!

[@cristianbrasca]

If you listen to all this video and you don't know nothing about music, it's seems like the world is divided ONLY by this two ways of naming the notes, but in Spanish for the example, (2nd spoken language in the world) it's totally different.

[@MusicMattersGB]

Sure. Please feel free to share the Spanish names. That would be great

[@cristianbrasca]

@@MusicMattersGB redonda (whole note), blanca, negra, corchea, semicorchea, fusa, semifusa.

[@MusicMattersGB]

That’s great. Thanks.

[@willcwhite]

Are musicians in Britain conversant with the US naming system? Because I can assure you that North Americans don't know a crotchet from a crochet needle...

[@MusicMattersGB]

Some are; some are not. 😀

[@jamesnotsmith1465]

Some North American musicians know both naming conventions. I live in Washington state, USA. My violin instructor follows ABRSM teaching literature and encourages students to take ABRSM tests at least through Level 5.

[@MusicMattersGB]

@@jamesnotsmith1465 😀

[@marcogea1974]

"Breve" is actually Italian for short, implying that there must have been longer notes too...

[@samuellabrecque880]

There were. In older music (Renaissance and stuff) there's a note value called a longa, which also had a variable length depending on the context (2 or 3 times the length of a breve).

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@markchapman6800]

@@samuellabrecque880 There was even a maxima, even longer than a longa. I see that the American system calls a longa a quadruple whole note, which as you say isn't always accurate.

[@markchapman6800]

'Minim' is a giveaway too, because it was the shortest note in the original notation.

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀

[@tedb.5707]

The US also has "Flags" where the Brits have "Hooks".

[@MusicMattersGB]

Absolutely

[@fnersch3367]

I saw a strange book in a book store several decades ago called, "Crotchets & Quavers". How odd, I thought.

[@MusicMattersGB]

😀