Saw a very interesting Facebook post today. It was posted in "Beginner Bass Players", and there is tab and notation at the bottom, so it was definitely directed at bass players.
Here's the text:
There is no such thing as a universal note.
There are only instrument-specific meanings of symbols.
I’ve noticed something important in how I read music across instruments.
When I play bass, piano, or classical guitar, the staff notes don’t mean the same thing — even when they’re written in the same clef. A bass clef note on electric bass is not processed the same way as a bass clef note on the left hand of piano or on guitar. I read the staff through the instrument, not abstractly.
That’s why I don’t encourage learning bass and treble clef “in general” without anchoring them to a specific instrument. Notes aren’t just symbols — they’re physical maps. Each instrument gives the staff its real meaning through movement, shape, and sound.
Reading improves fastest when notes connect directly to how your hands move, not when they’re memorized in isolation.
Well, I sort of agree but not entirely. I don't agree that a C on a saxophone is the same as the C on a piano, because the saxophone and many, if not most, reed instruments and horns are Bb instruments. They are called Bb instruments because the written "C" on their music score is actually a Bb. They are notated as such because the key of Bb has 2 flats and reading music without any accidentals (sharps or flats) is much easier to read and to play. So they transpose the score up one full step, knowing that notated C is really a Bb, and music for the Bb instrument is much easier to read. When the sax or other Bb instrument plays a notated D on their music, the note they are actually playing is a "C".
So their notated score is actually a relative notation and if you were to transpose that line from a piano score, you'd have to transpose the music a full step up (up to "D") to fit in with a piano or stringed instrument playing a "C". If you don't do that you will produce an interval of a "second", which will scream for resolution because it is so dissonant.
So hopefully that makes some sense. The note they are actually playing on their Bb instrument is NOT the note that appears on a piano score.
With vocals, the parts for tenors are actually played in the bass clef with lots of ledger lines above the top line of the clef. Multiple ledger lines look bad and are a pain to try to sight read. So the majority of time (not always) if the tenor part is notated separate from the bass part (not included together) the tenor part is actually notated one octave above the actual pitch, which keeps the notation of the tenor part on the G-staff (treble-staff) where notes are easily recognized at a glance. They are being sung an octave lower than they are notated, but they are night and day easier to sight read.
So basically, the way the piano is notated is the standard or universal note and everything else is a scripting adjustment to make it easier to read, and thus play, but instruments that are not based on the actual "C". It doesn't change what the note is, just the way it is written to accommodate the instrument it is being played upon.
NOW...here is where things get a little wonky and arguments for what is a "universal note" can get interesting. When orchestras tune up, typically a violin will play an A. In modern days that "A" is 440Hz, but it wasn't always so. In Renaissance Music, the note A was 400Hz, not 440Hz. and when that music is played with historically correct instruments, it is all 40Hz lower than any modern day rendition. And it sounds really good when you have true Renaissance instruments played by Renaissance musicians.
When I was a Voice major in college many years ago, I sang in a number of music groups including a 100+ voice a cappella choir and a 16-member Chamber Singers. Later I sang in a 16-member vocal jazz ensemble. Most people have relative pitch. As long as they start on the correct note, they can recognize the intervals between the following notes and sing them accurately. So changing the starting pitch is not a big deal for most folks.
However, there are people out there who have perfect pitch and if you change the key without changing the music notation it drives them crazy. I remember one fellow who was a second tenor and the altos were lined up singing behind us. There was one alto that never got this one part right and the guy with perfect pitch would berating her about it because she was 1/2-step out of tune. She did finally get it but I pitied the fellow with perfect pitch because it was written with 4-part harmony in two staffs and he could see and hear all of it. He was one of those who could look at a piece of music and hear it in his head, and that one mistake that alto made just drove him crazy.
Verdi (1813-1901) composed his music with A=432Hz. That same A=432Hz is often used today in "wellness" music because it is believed to resonate better with natural frequencies. So that designation is known both as the "Verdi Pitch" and the "Scientific Pitch". Again, as long as you have relative pitch none of this will cause you any problems. If you grew up with the modern "standard pitch of A=440Hz", it will cause you endless headaches because you will see it as being dissonant, while hearing it blend nicely.
On other thing real quick. Many rock bands and a lot of recordings use tuning that is dropped by 1/2 step. So their C is actually a B. Or more commonly they will play in the Key of E but because of their tuning they are playing in Eb. This makes it easier on the vocalist, especially if they sing high parts for extended performances.
When I was touring with a nightclub group back in the early 70's we had a female vocalist with a gorgeous voice who had a very limited range. We literally had to transpose almost everything into the key of Bb for her to be able to sing all the notes. Then she learned how to breath properly for singing and got some breath support underneath her notes, and her range expanded exponentially. We were no longer limited to Bb! We didn't change from standard tuning because we had three other lead vocalists and I can tell you that playing bass in Bb every time she sang a song limits your options and it really sucked.
So I guess I'm arguing for no "universal pitch" although not the way the OP described it. I think I can absolutely say there is a modern day standard pitch, and that's a close as we're going to get to a "universal pitch".
