Editing Letter notation (section)

==Choice of note names==

In the context of a piece of music, notes must be named for their [[diatonic functionality]]. For example, in the key of D major, it is not generally correct to specify G{{music|b}} as a melodic note, although its pitch may be the same as F{{music|#}}, as F{{music|#}} is diatonic to D major, while G{{music|b}} is not.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kostka |first=Stefan M. |title=Tonal harmony, with an introduction to twentieth-century music |last2=Payne |first2=Dorothy |date= |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-07-285260-8 |edition=5th |location=Boston}}</ref> (In many [[musical tuning|tuning systems]] other than twelve tone [[equal temperament]], the pitch of G{{music|b}} is ''not'' the same as that of F{{music|#}}). This is normally only an issue in describing the notes corresponding to the black keys of the piano; there is little temptation to write C as B{{music|#}} although both may be valid names of the same note. Each is correct in its context.

Note names are also used for specifying the natural scale of a [[transposing instrument]] such as a [[clarinet]], [[trumpet]], or [[saxophone]]. The note names used are conventional, for example a clarinet is said to be in B{{music|b}}, E{{music|b}}, or A (the three most common registers), never in A{{music|#}}, and D{{music|#}}, and B{{music|bb}} (double-flat), while an [[alto flute]] is in G.<ref name=":0" />