https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:48:28 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69984 Mon, 20 Sep 2004 06:13:07 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion E.Sherman https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69984 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69974 Mon, 20 Sep 2004 04:22:01 +0000

..that.]]> Guitar Players Discussion Alex_ https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69974 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69961 Mon, 20 Sep 2004 00:44:09 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion TaylorR https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69961 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69925 Sun, 19 Sep 2004 18:43:00 +0000
The reason is the range of instruments - on a piano, middle C is, obviously enough, in the middle - you've got about half the notes above, and half below. Piano music gets written on the 'grand staff', with a G (treble) clef for the top half, an F (bass) cleff for the bottom half, and middle C in the center of the two.

If you write guitar as actual pitch, you'd need to do one of several things:

1. Write it on the grand staff
2. Write it using two different clefs, and switch back and forth
3. Use a lot of ledger lines - low E would be 7 ledger lines below the treble clef staff.

Some composers have actually used methods 1 or 2 to write for guitar, usually as a component of an orchestral ensemble.

It's a lot easier to write an octave higher than it sounds - then you can write the whole range from low E to 1st string 12th fret E using only 3 ledger lines in either direction.]]> Guitar Players Discussion NoteBoat https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69925 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69921 Sun, 19 Sep 2004 18:15:33 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion E.Sherman https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69921 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69899 Sun, 19 Sep 2004 11:28:15 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion TaylorR https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69899 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69897 Sun, 19 Sep 2004 10:58:59 +0000
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Middle C
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In fact, middle C is on the ledger line, one below the bottom of the treble clef and one above the top line of the bass clef. So the highest note (the very first minim) on that piece of music is D above middle C - which a guitarist would play on the B string/3rd fret.]]> Guitar Players Discussion greybeard https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69897 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69888 Sun, 19 Sep 2004 07:26:30 +0000
Hope I didn't confuse you more. I've been playing piano for almost 12 years so I might not be explaining things very well.]]> Guitar Players Discussion E.Sherman https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69888 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69887 Sun, 19 Sep 2004 07:21:33 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Taso https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69887 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69881 Sun, 19 Sep 2004 03:57:40 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion Ricochet https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/piano-music-problem/#post-69881