What is "enharmonic"

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 one of the three kinds of musical scale (diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic) recognized by the ancient Greeks, which consisted of quarter tones and major thirds, and was regarded as the most accurate.

2. (Mus.)

   1. Pertaining to a change of notes to the eye, while, as the same keys are used, the instrument can mark no difference to the ear, as the substitution of A[flat] for G[sharp].

   2. Pertaining to a scale of perfect intonation which recognizes all the notes and intervals that result from the exact tuning of diatonic scales and their transposition into other keys.

c.1600, in reference to Greek music, from Late Latin enharmonicus, from Greek enharmonikos, from en (see en- (2)) + harmonikos (see harmonic). From 1794 in reference to a modern music note that can be indicated in different ways (G sharp/A flat).

a. 1 (context music English) Describing two or more identical or almost identical notes that are written differently when in different keys. (Whether they are identical depends on the tuning method used.) 2 (context music English) Of or pertaining to a tetrachord

In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently. Thus, the enharmonic spelling of a written note, interval, or chord is an alternative way to write that note, interval, or chord. For example, in twelve-tone equal temperament (the currently predominant system of musical tuning in Western music), the notes C and D are enharmonic (or enharmonically equivalent) notes. Namely, they are the same key on a keyboard, and thus they are identical in pitch, although they have different names and different roles in harmony and chord progressions.

In other words, if two notes have the same pitch but are represented by different letter names and accidentals, they are enharmonic. "Enharmonic intervals are intervals with the same sound that are spelled differently… [resulting], of course, from enharmonic tones."

Prior to this modern meaning, "enharmonic" referred to notes that were very close in pitch—closer than the smallest step of a diatonic scale—but not identical in pitch, such as F and a flattened note such as G. as in enharmonic scale. "Enharmonic equivalence is peculiar to post-tonal theory." "Much music since at least the 18th century, however, exploits enharmonic equivalence for purposes of modulation and this requires that enharmonic equivalents in fact be equivalent."

Some key signatures have an enharmonic equivalent that represents a scale identical in sound but spelled differently. The number of sharps and flats of two enharmonically equivalent keys sum to twelve. For example, the key of B major, with 5 sharps, is enharmonically equivalent to the key of C major with 7 flats, and 5 (sharps) + 7 (flats) = 12. Keys past 7 sharps or flats exist only theoretically and not in practice. The enharmonic keys are six pairs, three major and three minor: B major/C major, G minor/ A minor, F major/ G major, D minor/ E minor, C major/ D major and A minor/ B minor. There are practically no works composed in keys that require double sharps or double flats in the key signature. In practice, musicians learn and practice 15 major and 15 minor keys, three more than 12 due to the enharmonic spellings.

For example the intervals of a minor sixth on C, on B, and an augmented fifth on C are all enharmonic intervals . The most common enharmonic intervals are the augmented fourth and diminished fifth, or tritone, for example C–F = C–G.

Enharmonic equivalence is not to be confused with octave equivalence, nor are enharmonic intervals to be confused with inverted or compound intervals.