Lesson 1

 Lesson 1: Pitch and Pitch Class





Lecture Notes
  • There are seven (7) letter names in the musical alphabet. (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G)
  • On the piano, all white keys fit with the seven letters of the musical alphabet.
  • All black keys relate to the seven-letter names of the musical alphabet, but instead names after a sharp (#) or a flat (b).
  • Enharmonic equivalents are notes or intervals with the same pitch but different names. (Example: C# and Db)


Here's a video that talks more about enharmonic equivalents.





Intervals: Tones and Semitones

Intervals are the distance between two pitches.


  1. Semitones (half steps) are the smallest intervals that are distant to the very next note on the piano.
  2. Tones (whole steps) are intervals that are distant from one note to another that has one note between them.



Chromatics are a set of twelve (12) different pitches that are made up of using only semitones.



Here's a video that talks more about Chromatic Scales. The Youtuber, "Musictheoryguy" is a channel I always go to when I have a problem understanding music theory. This video will help you get a general understanding of Chromatic Scales.




The video below is a clip of me playing the chromatic scale.


















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