Musical Note Names in the USA and UK - Music Theory
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Date: 2022-03-28
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Comments and reviews: 10
voltlife
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.
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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.
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Tom
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-.
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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-.
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Benjy
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!
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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!
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Ron
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)
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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)
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Polite
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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Yoghurt364
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.
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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.
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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...
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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...
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Unqualifizierte
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.
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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.
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