Note names in other systems

The note an English book calls B is H in a German score, and the German B is what English speakers call B flat.

Letters and syllables

English-speaking countries name the white keys with letters, C D E F G A B. Much of the world uses syllables instead: do re mi fa sol la si in Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and many other languages. English speakers who sing in syllables usually say ti instead of si. In Korea, school music uses do re mi for singing, while the letter names and a Korean set based on the alphabet order are used for keys and pitch names.

Fixed do and movable do

Syllables are used in two different ways. In fixed do, do always means C, re always means D, and so on, exactly like letter names. In movable do, do means the home note of whatever key the music is in: in G major, G is do, A is re and B is mi. Movable do describes how a note relates to its key, which makes it very useful for singing and ear training. Fixed do names the key you press, which suits instrument players. Many musicians use letters for exact pitches and movable do for melodies.

The German H

German uses letters too, with one difference that surprises everyone the first time. The note English calls B is H in German, and German B means B flat. Sharps and flats are made with endings: -is raises (Cis, Dis, Fis) and -es lowers (Des, Ges), with the short forms Es for E♭ and As for A♭. The same system is used in Scandinavia and much of central Europe, so a German score labelled "Sinfonie in B" is in B flat, and a cellist from Berlin asking for an H wants the note you call B.

The German system goes back to medieval writing, when two different shapes of the letter b were used for the two versions of the note: a round b for the lower one and a square b for the higher. In Gothic handwriting the square b looked like an h, and German usage kept the letter. One famous result is that J. S. Bach could spell his own name in notes: B (B♭), A, C, H (B♮). Composers from Bach himself to Liszt have used this four-note motif.

Korean letter names

Korean music teaching has its own letter names that follow the order of the Korean alphabet in the same way that A B C follows the Latin one. Since A is the first letter, A gets the first Korean syllable, and the rest follow, so C, the do of a C-major scale, gets the third syllable. That is why C major is called by the third syllable in Korean, and why Korean learners memorise a three-way table: letter, Korean syllable and do re mi. Sharps and flats are named with words meaning "raised" and "lowered" in front.