[Harp-L] Enharmonics



Iceman writes:

"a Cb sounds exactly like a B - it is the same "audio frequency" - vibrates
at the same cyles/second. "



Only in a temperament which has the two notes as enharmonics. That would be 12TET or other limited-set temperaments. In other systems (including the various non-equal intonations used for diatonic harmonicas) Cb and B are distinct musical notes with different values. Very close, but not the same. This is somewhat semantics, but it is also accurate and gets to this point:


Iceman:
"Not talking harmonica, but MUSIC here. Time for harmonica players to upgrade
towards musicianship in their knowledge and discussions, me thinks."



While I'm not sure I care (people are going to take their music theory to the level they desire and need, and I'm fine with that), I agree in general that knowledge is good. And a very simple thing which everyone can remember is that enharmonic notes (Cb/B, C#/Db, E#/ F, G#/Ab, etc...) only exist in temperaments or intonations with a fixed number of notes per octave. Thus, Cb and B are only the same for systems where the two cannot both exist. For a pianist or organist with only twelve keys per octave, they will be the same. For a violinist with infinite divisions of a string, they are not the same. The harmonica comes somewhere in-between (on a single harmonica they are likely to be the same, but they may not be the same note on different key harmonicas--as Tim correctly pointed out).





()() JR "Bulldogge" Ross () () `----'






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