2 - Names of the Notes

[@robertknight6624]

This lesson points up the difference between description and explanation. Most teachers merely describe sharps and flats as being black keys, but that doesn't explain them. Thanks Steven, great video.

[@okok-ug6fq]

It's 2018 and I'm still jealous of your button.

[@aettic]

It's now 2021, and I'm still jealous.

[@alexanderzieschang2664]

The first time I really understood why there is no key between E and F! This video ist just so well explained!

[@orhoushmand85]

In my opinion all 12 notes today need one single name, not C-sharp or D-flat. If you ask me, I would use duodecimal numbers as names of notes, these ones in an octave: * 0 = C * 1 = C#/Db * 2 = D * 3 = D#/Eb * 4 = E * 5 = F * 6 = F#/Gb * 7 = G * 8 = G#/Ab * 9 = A * A = A#/Bb * B = B To note an octave, I would add an extra digit before the note digit, for example 40 is C4. I only hope that if I use duodecimal numbers as names of musical notes other will understand me, I also want to turn it into a norm.

[@StevenJacks]

Omg you're speaking my language. I agree with this; but it would be a big undertaking to reform hundreds of years of theory and standards.

[@deadlymedley3306]

"D is in da middle" I will remember and use this from now on

[@mercury4metal]

What?! Tri-tones are awesome!

[@chrisjamesr77]

2:58 As a longtime metal and hard rock fan, I disagree with the Greeks that a tritone doesn't sound good! lol Also, "octothorp" is one of my favorite words that doesn't get used a lot

[@aykitaki]

i found those videos and its literally perfect, thanks.

[@tdubasdfg]

I learned D by thinking D is in the "doghouse" with the doghouse being the group of 2 black keys. Idk where I learned this but it worked...

[@chrisjamesr77]

Maybe a thing a little outside the scope of this video, but in case there's anyone who happens to be reading this and wondering why sometimes, for instance, the note between C and D is called C sharp at times, and other times it's called D flat, that's because typically in the scales and keys we usually use, the rule is to only have one note named after each letter, whether it's sharp or flat or neither. Like if you're playing stuff based on C, and you wanted to play that note between C and D, you'd probably be calling it D flat, because there's already a C.

[@John-ic6zo]

Very well explained. Thanks.

[@michaelelliott4224]

It looks like there are 13 pitches in an octave.

[@StevenJacks]

Did you count C twice? Do and Do are the same. :)

[@eliash2827]

In Europe (except for english speaking nations) We call the note “B” “H” and the note “Bb” “b”.

[@dogblues4829]

In extremely new to music and thank you this is helping me so much.

[@bokatummtukote]

Love the video, but still... WHY there is only 1 step between B-C and E-F, and 2 steps between all the others?

[@timothyporter1995]

This video and the one that came before it are amazing! Thanks it helped a lot.

[@galissakti7202]

Why there is no gap between BC and EF? Can you tell the story behind it? Thank you

[@galissakti7202]

@@digogalvaos Thanks for the reply. But my point is, why the semitones is on BC and EF, not in AB or DE or FG or GA or etc?

[@janicecaravan1]

Thank you for the "dumb trick". Love it!

[@chrisjamesr77]

I can kinda relate to that part about "being afraid of the black notes"! I've played guitar for years, but I've messed around with keyboards occasionally, really VERY occasionally, if you know what I mean, lol. So, obviously, I'm way more familiar with where the notes are on a guitar than on keyboard. Last year I bought a stylophone (a sort of cheap small synthesizer thing, perhaps most famous for being used on David Bowie's song "Space Oddity" by the way) and I've done a few things where I played some chords on guitar and then recorded sort of a "lead part" over that with the stylophone. So far, I've purposely set them up so all the "white keys" would work with my guitar part, so I knew I could stick to them and I wouldn't hit a bad note! (also, it's totally fun, imo, to try to compose in the different modes. Maybe I'll do Mixolydian next, there's a thought, hmm....I'm imagining some classic-rock sounding stuff lol)

[@marshall19th]

extremely helpful ! amazing way to explain to someone like me starting from Zero :D thanks a lot ! now i'm gonna go search for your guitar and flute videos.:))

[@yoyothasme123]

Thank you! Is there a reason why you chose red for C. Other videos have green for C. Is this just a relative starting point or is there a relationship between the actual color spectrum? Thanks again!

[@bothieGMX]

No idea, if this is done here, but you can take the wavelength of light and octaviate it down to the wavelength of sound and thus get a direct logical relationship between sound and color. And if you're really funny, you go on assigning colors and sounds to the planets in our solar system by taking their rotation periods. ;)

[@massimookissed1023]

The colours are entirely arbitrary. He's starting his colours at red, (makes sense, it's the longest wavelength / lowest freq of visible light) and then progressing through the spectrum. Notice he originally started with A as red, but changed to C as red when he moved the keys along to highlight the 2-3 2-3 2-3 pattern of black keys.

[@aquawoelfly]

Hoping to find an answer about what happened to b sharp/c flat and e sharp/f flat.

[@ab45163j]

Who said that the tritone doesnt sound very good? And if they are, why?

[@cosimobaldi03]

Because the ratio between their frequencies is sqrt2, or 729/512 if you make a fifth interval exactly 3/2. both numbers have a very complicated ratio/rational approximations, so when their sine waves are summed they produce a new wave with no easily recognisable period/frequency

[@truebones]

thanks

[@RomanHold]

I actually thought about "why not make a piano with just 12 white keys and no black ones", then I saw the "D - da middle" trick, but this could also be solved with colourd keys like strings on some harps, but I guess it doesnt matter.

[@lartensgrill6106]

Great video

[@datnguyenthe8300]

Oh, so TL;DW a long time ago, people only used 7 notes, so to build on top of that old system, we got stuck with 5 notes that don't really have their own names... I'd been wondering for a while why the heck 7 and 5, why not give all 12 a name of their own. I had a theory that maybe it was because on a piano, with 12 keys being next to each other, it would be pretty much impossible for most people to play an octave with one hand... so they came up with the black recessed keys... and also to make the keys visually easily identifiable (because with 6 white keys and 6 black, the pattern would be regular)... and then somehow people based the entire musical system on that, which is silly, because the regular keyboard probably came after the whole musical scales thing was introduced. So this is very piano-biased and history and music theory ignorant xDD

[@GrubKiller436]

Gives me OCD as hell how inconsistent the Black Keys are placed from each other. They still should make a version that makes the whole thing equally symmetrical. And perhaps make the black keys black in color, but not in placement.

[@dabouras]

its the mode used all full steps have an associated sharp black half step key, modes go back to church chants and greek early music.

[@w0mblemania]

This was excellent. Thank you.

[@freesk8]

Really helpful! Well-taught lesson! Thanks!

[@hugoleonardo4464]

So, E and B don't have sharps just because of the 12 notes development through the history?? It would be much cool if we just eliminated B and added E#...

[@julijanmartincevic1856]

How would you know where which keys are then on the piano? everything would look the same

[@cinaminlee]

Octothorpe# cool....lightbulb just went on! :) Thank you!

[@crrs2332]

so WHO said there is no B-C and no E-F ( on all instruments) it may tune horrible or "wrong" why have people not made ROOM for it ? . I have learned hindustani music, have one P . and the LOW, & HIGH notes of the same letter are accented , unlike english. trying to learn both by ear but it's hard. it's all about # numbers adding up, = ratios, in mathematic equations ? and making (new) shapes solids as perfect shapes = perfect numbers = equal structures . some-day i'll figure it out ? NOT using 440 and starting on low c

[@neverstopthemusic7034]

You're doing an excellent job at teaching, Than you!!!

[@champ10ns08]

I use "Dog in a kennel". The two black notes are the kennel and the white note in between is the Dog. Yaaay! Dog in a kennel. I ❤️ kennels.

[@eddiemolina657]

Thanks for this vid...🙂

[@ianworthington2324]

First video I've seen which explains why there's no black between B/C and E/F.

[@ElKolovichi]

Wow, man! I absolutely enjoied your videos. I looked at your video list. There were a lot of excieting staff, viewing by names of them. I'll be excited to tell my not musician friends some of your basic music analisis concepts. I hope that I'll share my love of that subject. And I'll have so much fun to watch your videos, when i will not be so tired and sick. Good Luck in your video creating theory sharing expirience)

[@Nivenization]

Thank you.

[@AndyE775]

but why in german it is like that: c d e f g a h c c cis d dis e f fis g gis a ais h c c des d es e f ges g as b h ces c "is" means sharp and "es" means flat. BUT, "h" transforms into "b", if you flaten it... You understand my problem?

[@orhoushmand85]

Now it's time to upgrade the system of musical notes names so that all 12 notes will have one monosyllabic name. I try to create my own language for that.

[@dawidmat9639]

Good explanation, but why not just make 12 keys next to each other, would it be to wide?

[@StevenJacks]

Yeah I'd think so. Look up the 'Janko piano' for something a little more geometrically friendly than this 7 and 5 system. :)

[@avlisk]

I had always heard about "half steps", but this is the first time I've heard that the so-called "half step" isn't any smaller a step than any other. I always wondered why some had half steps and some didn't. Turns out, there's no such thing as a "half step". Yes?

[@kwbrech]

avlisk Half steps and whole steps are used determine your scales. [R]oot Major: R W W H W W W H Minor: R W H W W H W W

[@SimchaWaldman]

09:48 If that changed, why couldn't they incidentally just change the notes too and split the octave into 6 white keys and 6 black keys?

[@StevenJacks]

You'd think they would. Look up Janko keyboard. And this link. :) www.stevenjacks.com/learn/janko/ I have a colorization that makes it so there are 6 and 6, and it's argued to be much more efficient.

[@SimchaWaldman]

Thanks. But I am not sure what is the key order.

[@StevenJacks]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXyXg3igpqyWb9k Paul does a great job explaining the idea here :)

[@SimchaWaldman]

I see it now. But that is just another pattern with the same keys/notes. Why couldn't they just make them in pairs white and black alternately (meaning *renaming* them key,key♯ etc)?

[@StevenJacks]

Yes I agree with your statement. It would be so simple, yet... Modern music theory as is taught and practiced is 400 years old. It's in need of an overhaul, but it's a BIG task. Retraining teachers and students, remaking music software, and rewriting a LOT of music/ making new pianos. I'd love to see it happen, as it's long overdue, but as far as I know, it's only in small circles of thoughts (like you and me), I'm afraid. :)

[@floydnelson92]

This would have helped so much when I was playing trombone in 4th to 5.17th grade. I didn't get sharps or flats...

[@fgk2588]

Steven: ...white notes are nice, because you can play these and they sound good but then you play these and they don't sound as good... Gb major pentatonic: 👁👄👁 If you didn't understand, I will explain it: Major pentatonic is a scale with no dissonance, so it *does* sound good, and Gb major pentatonic only contains just black notes.

[@StevenJacks]

I meant that new players usually stick to the white keys and don't touch the black keys because using the black keys WITH the C major scale sounds funky to them. Gb Major Pentatonic doesn't use any white keys. So your example is similar to mine; where sticking with only one color works and sounds okay. But I was trying to say in the video that combining black and white keys is possible, and that there is in fact no differences between the two colors after all. If one understands wholesteps and halfsteps, colors don't matter, and anything can go with anything else to form scales and chords that'll be functional.

[@sawabhacks8050]

Just a question. so you are suggesting the minor the oldest scale ? older than major ?

[@pauloing1pauloing167]

09:59 violin was created before piano

[@toferg.8264]

pauloing1 pauloing1 , and the harpsichord?

[@davebyrd6828]

Thankyou🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@lukostello]

If you could redesign the keyboard to reflect the mathematical relationships between the notes how would it look instead? because the way it is designed now makes me feel like it should have 2 more black keys but withheld them from us because its like the number 13 on elevators or something

[@StevenJacks]

Look up the Janko keyboard. :) You might like it more, as it's much more geometrically friendly.

[@lukostello]

@@StevenJacks it is a step in the right direction but it seems that it is still honoring the tradition of having the "sharp" keys a different color even though there are adjacent white keys which are also half a step away. If all notes are half a step away from each other then why not just label that half step one whole step. I doesn't seem like mathematically there is anything distinct about the black notes. Perhaps I am missing something...

[@StevenJacks]

@@lukostello I agree! I made my own version. Try this: stevenjacks.com/learn/janko/ Click on "Color: Traditional" in the upper left to change it to "New Age" or "New Age Labeled". This is how I would prefer it - especially with the labels off. This would be: Colors: New Age (Labeled) Labels: None. What do you think?

[@lukostello]

@@StevenJacks certainly starting to break free from convention to hone in on the mathematical truth but you can go further. I am just beginning to learn music theory so I am having trouble knowing how well you are portraying the content as I am not totally convinced I have internalized it correctly partly due to the contrived methods and labels which have been passed down by tradition. I am more of a visual learner with a mathematical mind and I'm not very good at hearing the inherent math behind it. But here is where I would start to really go on your own. Incorperate color theory into the keyboard if there is enough overlap. Such that if two colors look good together using color theory then they should also have a mathematical resonance as well. The more dissonant they are the less well they pair.

[@StevenJacks]

@@lukostello Oh man. What an idea. It'd have to be with light (Red green blue vs red yellow blue), I think, but.... the colors we see complement each other at different places than auditory frequencies I think. Might have to look into it for a definitive answer though.

[@michaelsmusic3532]

If someone needs word association to remember what a sharp and a flat is .... they are a lost cause lol

[@acow4618]

Imagine if do was renamed as A instead of C. Then you wouldn't need to do any fancy memorization about D being in da middle.

[@GoFlyYourselves]

:D

[@bobbymcloughlin3452]

In My Music I got 14 Notes in the Western Chromatic Scale (8 = Natural, 6 Accidental) 8 Letters (A B C D E F G H) then Starts all over at A Chromatic Scale (14 Notes) C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, H, H#, A, A#, B, C Diatonic Scale (8 Notes) C D E F G H A B C Whole Tone Scale (7 Notes) C D E F# G# H# A# C (C D E F# G# Ab Bb C), Db Eb F G H A B C# Heptachord (7 Notes) C D E F G H A C, C D F G H A B C, C D E F# H A B C, C D E G H A B C, C D E F H A B C, C D E F G A B C, C D E F G H B C Tribitonic Scale (6 Notes) C D F G H A C, C D E F# H A C, C D E G H A C

[@rafdecc]

PERHAPS THIS QUESTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED IN YOUR PRIOR VIDEO; HOWEVER, PLEASE DEFINE WHAT IS A NOTE, OCTAVE, KEY , OTHER??ALL I EVER HAD IN SCHOOL WAS THE DO RAE ME AND DON'T UNDERSTAND IT EITHER. NOW AT 73 I WANT TO PLAY A GUITAR AND PERHAPS OTHER INSTRUMENTS??PLEASE PARDON MY IGNORANCE.

[@203malsawmdawngkima8]

I can understand 40% thnx

[@cosimobaldi03]

but this doesn't explain why in ancient times they chose to give a name only to 7 of the 12 notes in an octave

[@marshall19th]

answer to your question probably will be the same with to the question "why there are 26 letters in English" :D I guess someone just came up with that 7 letters.

[@massimookissed1023]

If you have a simple primitive instrument like a straight fanfare horn or didgeridoo without valves or holes, by blowing through it you only get the 7 notes of a Major key. (The white notes.)

[@servantofaeie1569]

it should be A B C D E Y Z H I J K L

[@bornto_lead6957]

A d between the two black keys . 😂 that sound dirty. Pun intended

[@thomasjust2663]

I'm confused, in Mexico we use Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, but you use A, B, C....why?

[@StevenJacks]

The solfedge syllables are Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si (I say Ti; I'm from the US), and can generally applied to only major scales. There are ways to talk about other scales. Then there are two systems: Moveable Do and Fixed Do. Moveable Do is more user friendly. If you're in C major, your major scale is C D E F G A B C. Do = C, Re = D, Mi = E, etc. If you move to Eb major, your major scale is Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb. Do = Eb, Re = F, Mi = G, etc. This is easy enough. In Fixed Do, C is ALWAYS Do. C major, then, works in the same way for either system. But your Eb major would look like this: Eb = Me (not Mi) F = Fa G = So Ab = Le (not La) Bb = Te/(Se?) (Not Ti / Si) C = Do (Still Do!) D = Re Eb = Me (again) There are correlation everywhere and it's easy to convert between the different systems when you know how. Let me know if you need more information on this. Great question! :D

[@thomasjust2663]

@@StevenJacks Thank you for for taking the time to explain, I'm still trying to understand it

[@mailen7341]

@@thomasjust2663 Do not worry too much about it a lot of countries in the world do not use the "ABC" musical naming system. These differences have historical and cultural roots . It does not change the basics of musical theory, and no naming system is superior to the other. Using the : "do, do#,re, mib, mi, fa, fa#, sol, sol#, la ,sib, si "system is perfectly valid, and as it was said to you previously there are (easy to find)conversion tables 😉😉😉😉 The sound of any note preceedes the names it is given. Names are only conventions. Do not let it disturb you!!!!! For the historical and cultural perspective, you can find this in wikipedia : "In traditional music theory, most countries in the world use the solfège naming convention Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si, including for instance Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Poland, Romania, most Latin American countries, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, and all the Arabic-speaking or Persian-speaking countries. However, in English- and Dutch-speaking regions, pitch classes are typically represented by the first seven letters of the Latin alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F and G). A few European countries, including Germany, adopt an almost identical notation, in which H substitutes for B (see below for details). In Indian music the Sanskrit names Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni (सा-रे-गा-मा-पा-धा-नि) are used, as in Telugu Sa-Ri-Ga-Ma-Pa-Da-Ni (స-రి-గ-మ-ప-ద-ని), and in Tamil (ச-ரி-க-ம-ப-த-நி). Byzantium used the names Pa-Vu-Ga-Di-Ke-Zo-Ni (πΑ-Βου-Γα-Δι-κΕ-Ζω-νΗ)............ ...........In parts of Europe, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Norway, Denmark, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Finland and Iceland (and Sweden before about 1990s), the Gothic b transformed into the letter H (possibly for hart, German for hard, or just because the Gothic b resembled an H). Therefore, in German music notation, H is used instead of B♮ (B-natural), and B instead of B♭ (B-flat). Occasionally, music written in German for international use will use H for B-natural and Bb for B-flat (with a modern-script lower-case b instead of a flat sign). Since a Bes or B♭ in Northern Europe (i.e., a B elsewhere) is both rare and unorthodox (more likely to be expressed as Heses), it is generally clear what this notation means. In Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Romanian, Greek, Russian, Mongolian, Flemish, Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Turkish and Vietnam notation the notes of scales are given in terms of Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si rather than C-D-E-F-G-A-B. These names follow the original names reputedly given by Guido d'Arezzo, who had taken them from the first syllables of the first six musical phrases of a Gregorian chant melody "Ut queant laxis", which began on the appropriate scale degrees. These became the basis of the solfège system. "Do" later replaced the original "Ut" for ease of singing (most likely from the beginning of Dominus, Lord), though "Ut" is still used in some places. "Si" or "Ti" was added as the seventh degree (from Sancte Johannes, St. John, to whom the hymn is dedicated). The use of "Si" versus "Ti" varies regionally." I do hope it will help 😊😊😊 and i am sure you will understand it very fast.

[@ytuberonyt]

Do De Re Ri Mi Fa Fo So Sa La Li Ti Do

[@GrubKiller436]

They done fucked up. That's what I think. They should have just renamed the whole thing after adding in the black notes.

[@Fantilow]

i play drum

[@lthorsemanship8150]

Haha worried about possible discrimination between white and black keys, I dunno why I laughed so hard at that.

[@startingpoint1265]

Great explanation, In school when I used to practice piano and guitar, I used to ask him the underlying principles, but he could not answer, so he used to tell, remember practice

[@catiperez8901]

Sorry I didn't mean to express thumbs down, it was an accident.

[@yoshi6236]

6:53 "The blacks are our friends too, theres nothing to be afraid of." Is this a political statement?

[@ROCKINGMAN]

Even in music blacks don't get equal consideration it seems.

[@plekkchand]

I'm not a "guy".

[@pazrosales3604]

You're hot man!

[@connshell4638]

Not gonna lie you describing the sharp notes seemed racially charged.

[@heynando]

jesus. why not A+ and B-, all this nonsense about flat and sharp whilst the plus and minus are right there

[@mauriciogago4465]

Well, there shouldn't be any sharps or flats whatsoever, they're completely unnecessary, we could just have A B C D E F G H I J K L.

[@mariebcfhs9491]

pianists are racist if they are afraid of black notes lol