Sharp (music) explained

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}}In music, sharp – eqv. French: dièse (from French) or Hebrew: diesis (from Greek) – means higher in pitch. The sharp symbol,, indicates that the note to which the symbol is applied is played one semitone higher. The opposite of sharp is flat, indicating a lowering of pitch. The symbol derives from a square form of the letter b (see History of notation of accidentals for more information).

Examples

The sharp symbol is used in key signatures or as an accidental applied to a single note. The staff below has a key signature with three sharps (A major or its relative minor, F minor). The sharp symbol placed on the note indicates that it is an A instead of an A.

In twelve-tone equal temperament tuning (the predominant system of tuning in Western music), raising a note's pitch by a semitone results in a note that is enharmonically equivalent to the adjacent named note. In this system, A and B are considered to be equivalent. However, in the majority of tuning systems, this is not the case.

Variants

A double sharp is indicated by the symbol and raises a note by two chromatic semitones. Historically, a double sharp was sometimes written, or .^[1]

A half sharp, or demisharp raises a note by approximately a quarter tone. A sharp-and-a-half, three-quarter-tone sharp, or sesquisharp raises a note by three quarter tones.

Although very uncommon, a triple sharp (or) can sometimes be found. It raises a note by three semitones or a whole tone and semitone.^[2] ^[3]

Key signature

In a key signature, sharps or flats are placed to the right of the clef. The pitches indicated apply in every measure and octave.

Numberof sharps	Major key	Sharp notes	Minor key
0	C major	–	A minor
1	G major	F	E minor
2	D major	F, C	B minor
3	A major	F, C, G	F minor
4	E major	F, C, G, D	C minor
5	B major	F, C, G, D, A	G minor
6	F major	F, C, G, D, A, E	D minor
7	C major	F, C, G, D, A, E, B	A minor

The order of sharps in key signature notation is F, C, G, D, A, E, B. Starting with no sharps or flats (C major), adding the first sharp (F) indicates G major, adding the next (C) indicates D major, and so on through the circle of fifths.

Some keys (such as C major with seven sharps) may be written as an enharmonically equivalent key (D major with five flats in this case). In rare cases, the sharp keys may be extended further, G → D → A → E → B → F → C, requiring double sharps in the key signature: F, C, G, D, A, E, B. These are called theoretical key signatures. This principle applies similarly to the flat keys.

Temporary accidental

When used as a temporary accidental sign, sharps apply to the note on which they are placed, and to all subsequent similar notes in the same measure and octave. the sharp symbol is placed to the left of the note head.

Temporary accidentals apply to the note on which they are placed, and to subsequent similar notes in the same measure. In modern notation they do not apply to notes in other octaves or measure, but this was not always the convention. If a sharp is used as an accidental, it can be cancelled on a subsequent similar note in the staff, measure and octave by using a flat or a natural .

Unicode

In Unicode, assigned sharp signs are as follows:

Other notation and usage

The sharp symbol resembles the number (hash) sign (#), in that both have two intersecting sets of parallel double lines. While the number sign may have a pair of horizontal lines, the sharp sign has a pair of slanted lines that rise from left to right instead, to avoid obscuring the staff lines. The other set of parallel lines are vertical in the sharp sign, while the number sign (#) may have slanted lines instead. It is also etymologically independent from the number sign. Likewise, while the double-sharp sign resembles a bold-face lower-case x it needs to be typographically distinct.
Historically, lowering a double sharp to a single sharp could be notated using a natural and sharp sign (♮♯) or vice-versa (♯♮) instead of the conventional sharp sign (♯), but the natural sign is often omitted in modern notation. The similar principle of the natural sign notation can apply when canceling a triple sharp or beyond. The combination can be also written when changing a flat to a sharp.

In John Stump's 'String Quartet No. 556 (B) For Strings In a Minor', a triple sharp is also indicated by .^[4]
In John Stump's Faerie's Aria and Death Waltz, a quadruple sharp (),^[5] was used.^[6]

In environments where the symbol is not supported, or in specific text notation, a double sharp is sometimes written using two single sharp signs, hash signs (##) or a lower-case letter x. Likewise, a triple sharp can be written as, etc.
To allow extended just intonation, composer Ben Johnston uses a sharp to indicate a note is raised 70.6 cents (ratio 25:24).^[7]

References

Notes and References

Musical Notation. 19. 87.
Book: Ayrton, William . The Harmonicon . Samuel Leigh . 1827 . 1276309457 . V . 47.
Web site: Byrd . Donald . 2018 . Extremes of conventional music notation . . Bloomington, IN . academic pers. page.
Web site: 19 May 2012 . The Unplayable Score: Faerie’s Aire and Death Waltz – John Stump . String Quartet No. 556(b) for Strings In A Minor.
Web site: 2023 . C-quadruple-sharp note .
Web site: 19 May 2012 . The Unplayable Score: Faerie’s Aire and Death Waltz – John Stump .
Fonville . J. . John Fonville . Summer 1991 . Ben Johnston's extended just intonation – a guide for interpreters . . 29 . 106–137, esp. 109 . 10.2307/833435 . 833435 . ... the ratio is the sharp ratio ... this raises a note approximately 70.6 cents. . 2.