Enharmonic scale

For enharmonic keys, see Enharmonic.
Enharmonic scale [segment] on C.[1][2] Playⓘ[2] Note that in this depiction C♯ and D♭ are distinct rather than equivalent as in modern notation.
Enharmonic scale on C.[3]

In music theory, an enharmonic scale is a very ancient Greek musical scale which contains four notes tuned to approximately quarter tone pitches, bracketed (as pairs) between four fixed pitches.[4] For example, in modern microtonal notation, one of the several enharmonic scales aligned with the conventional key of C major would be

C (0 ¢), Ddouble sharp (400 ¢), Ehalf sharp (450 ¢), F (500 ¢),
G (700 ¢), Adouble sharp (1000 ¢), Bhalf sharp(1150 ¢), C′ (1200 ¢).

The symbol half sharp in this example represents a half-sharp, or sharpening by a quartertone (50 cents), although raising pitch by exactly 50 cents is not at all required, nor even usual among the different Greek enharmonic tunings, which tended instead to have the movable, inner notes (here, D & E; A & B) variably spaced, with about 20~30 cents between each other, and likewise spaced from their closest fixed note (for this example those are C, F, G, and C′).[4]

  1. ^ Moore, John Weeks (1875) [1854]. "Enharmonic scale". Complete Encyclopaedia of Music. New York: C. H. Ditson & Company. p. 281.. Moore cites Greek use of quarter tones until the time of Alexander the Great.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Callcott-1833 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Elson, Louis Charles (1905). Elson's Music Dictionary. O. Ditson Company. p. 100.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ML-West-1992 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).