At the end of this class, you should be able to:

• Name specific pitches using letter names.
• Correlate pitch letter names with the white keys on a piano keyboard.
• Name the black keys on the piano using letter names and accidentals.
• Define the following musical terms: black keys, flat, middle C, note, octave, pitch, scale, sharp, staff, fifth, fourth, interval, note, octave, second, sharp, and staff.
• Indicate the numerical size of an interval by counting the notes between two pitches.
• Identify whether an interval is ascending or descending.
• Using the piano keyboard, indicate the numerical size of a given interval.
• Explain the interval of an octave and identify it on the staff and keyboard.

• Different musical traditions and cultures name their pitches differently. In the Western musical tradition, we usually refer to specific pitches or tones with letter names, using the letters A through G. Thus, we have seven letter names to name pitches: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
• Keys have fixed letter names. Any given key is typically called by the same letter name, although there are some exceptions based on musical context. An easy way to remember the names of keys is to think of the white key between the group of two black keys as the "sandwich" key. That key is referred to as D.
• The distance between two pitches is called an interval. As you know by now, pitches may be indicated by the position of a note on the staff or by a letter name (for example, A, G, or D). Another way of putting it is that an interval is the distance between two letter names.
• Intervals may be ascending (as in the previous examples) or descending. Descending intervals are calculated exactly the same way as ascending ones.
• A very important interval is the one that happens between a note and its next occurrence (the same letter name) up or down the keyboard. That interval is called an octave.

At the end of each class, you will have an opportunity to check your knowledge. Please take it as many times as you need to as this will help you prepare for the Section Quiz and the Midterm Exam.