Why do German speakers use letter H for the note that English speakers
call B? Equally, B for our Bb, Es for Eb, As for Ab? B was always the
most problematic note as the modes developed and scales came into use
during the mediaeval period - but why the different naming
conventions? And why do the French use the tonic sol-fa names (ut for
C, re for D, mi for E and so on)?

Hello Tosca~

I am not including this as an official answer, because I'm not sure a
definitive answer can be given. As with many aspects of history, some
of the changes to music elude the historian. The history of music
notation is not only fascinating, but vast; many areas of the world
developed their own forms of music notation separately (which accounts
for the variety of styles of music notation until modern
standardization occurred). Here are some basics with regard to your
questions:

In the 12th century, Guido d’Arezzo tried to perfect a method of music
notation that would work well on early papers (as opposed to
parchment) by indicating pitch on a stave, using *letters,* not notes,
as we do today. Apparently, notes, when written on early paper with
quills, made for a black blobby mess that was nearly impossible to
read.

In this early history of music, a lower case "b" was used to indicate
what we today call B flat. (In fact, today we use a stylized lower
case "b" to symbolize all flats.) In Germany, a squared-off lower case
"b" was the symbol for a natural. (Again, if you write out a "b,"
making the lines squared instead of rounded, it's easy to see how our
modern natural symbol was derived.) Due to early printing limitations,
German printers began using the lower case letter "h" to indicate a
natural. Therefore, our modern "B flat" was then simply a "b," and our
modern "B" was then indicated by "h."

Guido d’Arezzo also developed "mi, fa, sol," etc. by giving each note
the initial of a Latin hymn. The French probably originally adopted
these for singers, but eventually the initials came to mean specific
pitches.

For more about the origin of music notation, try this site:
http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory2.htm#origin

For a brief history of music symbols, try this site:
http://www.highhopes.com/musicsymbols.html

Keywords Used:
German H "music notation"
History "music notation"


kriswrite-ga

Tosca~

If you are happy with the above answer to your question, I will submit
it as an official answer.

Thanks!
kriswrite

kriswrite

Thanks for this, and for a quick response. I suspected that there
might not be anything more definitive to be found. Did you have any
luck with the Es/As notation? I don't think that's covered by any of
the info you have unearthed so far.

Tosca~

I didn't find anything (in a rather extensive search) that explained
the *origin* of the Es/As notation sufficiently. I imagine, however,
that information would be available in a good book on the history of
notation.

kriswrite

Here's one part of the puzzle:

The letter H is used in German to denote the English note B, while B
in German signifies the English B flat. In the use of the letters of a
word to form a musical motif, the presence of H allows a complete
musical version of the name BACH (B flat - A - C - B = German: B - A -
C - H), used by various composers, including Liszt. The Russian
composer Dmitry Shostakovich uses a musical cryptogram derived from
the first letters of his name in German, DSCH, which becomes D - Es (=
E flat) - C - H. This occurs in a number of his works as a kind of
musical signature.
http://www.theviolin.freeserve.co.uk/h.htm

kriswrite

OK, thanks very much for your research. I've never come across an
explanation for the Es notation but I'll keep looking. (It's tempting
to suspect that it was a deliberate move by a composer with an S in
his name, purely so that he could play the sort of musical games
zhiwenchong refers to!)

By the way, those two examples are the ones most used, but a more
interesting one, I think, is that Brahms quoted the name of his
fiancee Agathe in his second string sextet, using a D and a B (H)
played together to signify the TH sound. He didn't marry her though!

Please post your answer, but I'd still love to get more comments from
people.

Tosca

Hi again Tosca~

I'm still trying to track down the "final answer" to your question. I
just sent out emails to some experts, so hopefully one of them can
enlighten us both!
kriswrite