Enharmonics in the chromatic scale
Enharmonics in the chromatic scale

In this lesson we are going to learn about enharmonic notes in the chromatic scale, and how they occur. We will also try to do some activities with the enharmonic notes.

Contents of the lesson Accidentals What is enharmonic ? Activity References

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Accidentals

As you have learnt in the previous lesson about the chromatic scale , you also learnt the notes in between while ascending the chromatic scale are known as sharps ( #) and while descending the chromatic scale the notes in between are known as flats. So this helps us understand the order of sharp and flat and what you call each note depending on how you are playing the scale ascending or descending.

For example while ascending in between D to E you will have D# ( D sharp), but while descending E to D the note in between will be known as Eb ( E flat ).

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What is enharmonic ?

What does the term “enharmonic” mean? “Enharmonic” is a fancy word that means something quite simple – an alternate musical spelling. We use the term “enharmonic” in music when we want to point out that there are two ways to indicate the same note, interval, or scale., we can manipulate the resolution of a note or chord depending on the notes used. What does that mean? certain chords can be respelled using enharmonic tones to generate a different result.

Examples

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In the above examples you can see that G# can also be noted as Ab and C# can also be noted as Db.Meaning the same note having different names depending whether you are ascending or descending the chromatic scale.

More examples of enharmonic equivalent notes:

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