Enharmonic scale

Enharmonic scale

An enharmonic scale is a musical scale in which there is no exact equivalence between a sharpened note and the flattened note it is enharmonically related to.As an example, F sharp and G flat are generally equivalent in a chromatic scale, but they would be distinguished in an enharmonic scale.

Consider a scale constructed through Pythagorean tuning. A Pythagorean scale can be constructed "upwards" by wrapping a chain of perfect fifths around an octave, but it can also be constructed "downwards" by wrapping a chain of perfect fourths around the same octave. By juxtaposing these two slightly different scales, it is possible to create an enharmonic scale.

The following Pythagorean scale is enharmonic:

In the above scale the following pairs of notes are said to be enharmonic:
* C♯ and D♭
* D♯ and E♭
* F♯ and G♭
* G♯ and A♭
* A♯ and B♭

In this example, natural notes are sharpened by multiplying its frequency ratio by 256:243 (called a limma), and a natural note is flattened by multiplying its ratio by 243:256. A pair of enharmonic notes are separated by a Pythagorean comma, which is equal to 531441:524288 (about 23.46 cents).

The enharmonic genus is only loosely related to enharmonic scales, being a scale that has a pitch distinction too fine to accommodate with flat and sharp notation.

Musical keyboards which distinguish between enharmonic notes are called enharmonic keyboards.


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  • Enharmonic keyboard — An enharmonic keyboard is a musical keyboard based on an enharmonic scale. At the very least such keyboards will have 17 keys per octave, and enharmonically equivalent notes will have different pitches. A typical keyboard will have one key for,… …   Wikipedia

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  • Enharmonic — En har*mon ic ([e^]n h[.a]r*m[o^]n [i^]k), Enharmonical En har*mon ic*al ([e^]n h[.a]r*m[o^]n [i^]*kal), a. [Gr. enarmoniko s, enarmo nios fitting, accordant; en in + armoni a harmony: cf. F. enharmonique.] 1. (Anc. Mus.) Of or pertaining to that …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Enharmonic genus — The enharmonic genus has historically been the most mysterious and controversial of the three Greek genera. Its characteristic interval is a major third, leaving the remainder of the tetrachord (the pyknon ) to be divided by two intervals smaller …   Wikipedia

  • enharmonic — enharmonically, adv. /en hahr mon ik/, adj. Music. having the same pitch in the tempered scale but written in different notation, as G sharp and A flat. [1590 1600; < LL enharmonicus < Gk enarmónios ( icus r. ios), equiv. to en EN 1 + harmoní(a)… …   Universalium

  • enharmonic — adjective Etymology: French enharmonique, from Middle French, of a scale employing quarter tones, from Greek enarmonios, from en in + harmonia harmony, scale Date: 1794 of, relating to, or being notes that are written differently (as A flat and G …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • enharmonic — en•har•mon•ic [[t]ˌɛn hɑrˈmɒn ɪk[/t]] adj. mad having the same pitch in the tempered scale but written in different notation, as G sharp and A flat • Etymology: 1590–1600; < LL enharmonicus < Gk enarmónios ( icus r. ios) = en I+harmónios… …   From formal English to slang

  • enharmonic — /ˌɛnhaˈmɒnɪk/ (say .enhah monik) adjective having the same pitch in the tempered scale but written in different notation, as G sharp and A flat. {Late Latin enharmonicus in accord, from Greek enarmonikos} –enharmonically, adverb …  

  • enharmonic — adj. Mus. of or having intervals smaller than a semitone (esp. such intervals as that between G sharp and A flat, these notes being made the same in a scale of equal temperament). Derivatives: enharmonically adv. Etymology: LL enharmonicus f. Gk… …   Useful english dictionary

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