♯
Sharp (music)
In UnicodeU+266F ♯ MUSIC SHARP SIGN (♯)
Different from
Different fromU+0023 # NUMBER SIGN (#)
U+2317 ⌗ VIEWDATA SQUARE
U+22D5 ⋕ EQUAL AND PARALLEL TO
U+4E95 井 JING

In music, sharp - dièse (from French) or diesis (from Greek)[lower-alpha 1] - means higher in pitch. The sharp symbol, ♯, indicates that the note to which it is applied is played one semitone higher. The opposite of sharp is flat, indicating a lowering of pitch. The ♯ symbol is conjectured to be a condensed form of German ligature ſch (for scharf) or the symbol ƀ (for "cancelled flat").

Examples

The sharp symbol is used in key signatures or as an accidental. 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♮.

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { \key a \major ais1 } }

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. There are other tuning systems in which this is not the case, however.

Key signature

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature { \key cis \major s16^"" } }
The standard order in which sharps occur in a key signature is "F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯", with a maximum of 7.

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

Number

of 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♯→Fdouble sharp→Cdouble sharp, requiring double sharps in the key signature: Fdouble sharp, Cdouble sharp, Gdouble sharp, Ddouble sharp, Adouble sharp, Edouble sharp, Bdouble sharp. These are called theoretical key signatures. This principle applies similarly to the flat keys.

Accidental

When used as an accidental, the sharp symbol is placed to the left of the note head.

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { bis1 } }

Accidentals apply to the note on which they are placed, and to all subsequent similar notes in the measure. In modern notation they do not apply to notes in other octaves, but this was not always the convention. To cancel an accidental later in the same measure, another accidental may be used.

Variants

A double sharp is indicated by the symbol double sharp and raises a note by two semitones, or one whole tone.

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { bisis1 } }

Historically, a double sharp was sometimes written , or .[1]

Less often (in microtonal music notation, for example) other types of sharps may be used. A half sharp, or demisharp raises a note by a quarter tone = 50 cents (Playⓘ), and may be marked with various symbols including half sharp. A sharp-and-a-half, three-quarter-tone sharp, or sesquisharp, raises a note by three quarter tones = 150 cents (Playⓘ) and may be denoted three quarter sharp.

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { dih1 eisih } }

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

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { \tweak Accidental.stencil #ly:text-interface::print \tweak Accidental.text \markup { \concat { \sharp \doublesharp }} bis1 } }

Shape

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.

Likewise, while the double-sharp sign double sharp resembles a bold-face lower-case x it needs to be typographically distinct.

Unicode

In Unicode, assigned sharp signs are as follows:

  • U+266F ♯ MUSIC SHARP SIGN (♯)
  • U+1D12A 𝄪 MUSICAL SYMBOL DOUBLE SHARP
  • U+1D130 𝄰 MUSICAL SYMBOL SHARP UP
  • U+1D131 𝄱 MUSICAL SYMBOL SHARP DOWN
  • U+1D132 𝄲 MUSICAL SYMBOL QUARTER TONE SHARP

Other notation and usage

  • Historically, lowering a double sharp to a single sharp could be notated using a natural and a sharp sign (♮♯ or ♯♮), but the natural sign is often omitted in modern notation. This is also true when canceling a triple sharp or beyond.[4] A ♮♯ can be also written when changing a flat to a sharp.[5]
{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { bisis2 bis \accidentalStyle modern bisis2 bis } }
  • To allow extended just intonation, composer Ben Johnston uses a sharp to indicate a note is raised 70.6 cents (ratio 25:24).[6]
  • In environments where the double sharp symbol is not supported, or in specific text notation, a double sharp is sometimes written using two single sharp signs (♯♯) or a lower-case letter x, etc. Likewise, a triple sharp can be written as ♯♯♯, or etc.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ For the etymology of the words dièse and diesis, see Diesis.

References

  1. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Musical Notation" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 87.
  2. ↑ Ayrton, William (1827). The Harmonicon. Vol. V. Samuel Leigh. p. 47. ISBN 1276309457.
  3. ↑ Byrd, Donald (2018). "Extremes of conventional music notation". Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana.
  4. ↑ Max Reger: Clarinet Sonata No.2 (Complete Score), pp. 33.: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  5. ↑ Chopin: Études No. 9, Op.10 (C.F. Peters), pp. 429.: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  6. ↑ Fonville, J. (Summer 1991). "Ben Johnston's extended Just Intonation – a guide for interpreters". Perspectives of New Music. 29 (2): 106–137, esp. 109. doi:10.2307/833435. JSTOR 833435. ... the 25/ 24  ratio is the sharp (♯) ratio ... this raises a note approximately 70.6 cents.
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