themusictheorycourse.comFree online lesson, with sound and self-correcting exercises
II.3Part II, Scales and Intervals
Enharmonic Equivalents
This short lesson teaches you to recognize and write enharmonic notes.
5 min6 questionsDanhauser § 74 and 75
Let's start with a definition. Enharmonic equivalence is the relationship, a kind of synonymy, between two notes that have different names but correspond to the same sound (§ 74). C♯ and D♭, or E and F♭, are enharmonic pairs.
Each pair is written differently but played with the same piano key.
You heard it: the two notes of each pair sound alike. They are called enharmonic notes, or enharmonic equivalents, and Danhauser also says “synonymous notes”. C♯ is the enharmonic equivalent of D♭, and D♭ is the enharmonic equivalent of C♯ (§ 75).
Why one sound for two names? It is a consequence of temperament, the way the piano and other keyboard instruments are tuned into twelve equal half steps, which you'll study in Part 3. On these instruments, a single key serves for two, or even three, written notes.
WorkshopOnline Piano Keyboard with Note NamesFull screen
One key, several possible names.
Middle C = C4 (French: do3)
C4
D
E
F
G
A
B
C5
Press a key: you hear the sound and see its name and its place on the staff.
Exercisein the method's spirit
Next to each of these notes, write its enharmonic equivalent.
Solution
The equivalents are G♭ for F♯, A♯ for B♭, E♭ for D♯, B for C♭, F for E♯, and F♯ for G♭.
So far, we've compared notes that are very close together. In the next lesson, we'll measure the distance between any two notes: the interval. But first, the quiz.
Check your understanding
6 questions
1.
Which note is the enharmonic equivalent of D♭?
2.
F♭ sounds like:
3.
Enharmonic equivalence concerns two notes:
4.
Where does enharmonic equivalence on the piano come from?
5.
Are these two notes enharmonic?
6.
Which piano key has only two possible names?
A lesson is completed automatically at 70% on the quiz. You can also mark it yourself.
A question, a mistake, a word about this lesson? Write to us.