B (
beeB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
-flat; also called
si bémol) is the eleventh
semitoneA semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant. The most commonly written form of this interval is the minor second, notated using two adjacent letter names A semitone, also called a...
of the Western
chromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a nondiatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step intervals," having, "no tonic," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
(starting from C).
It lies a diatonic semitone above
ALa or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
and a chromatic semitone below
BB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
, thus being
enharmonicIn modern music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
to A
{{otheruses|B-flat}}
B{{music|flat}} (
beeB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
-flat; also called
si bémol) is the eleventh
semitoneA semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant. The most commonly written form of this interval is the minor second, notated using two adjacent letter names A semitone, also called a...
of the Western
chromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a nondiatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step intervals," having, "no tonic," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
(starting from C).
It lies a diatonic semitone above
ALa or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
and a chromatic semitone below
BB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
, thus being
enharmonicIn modern music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
to A
{{otheruses|B-flat}}
B{{music|flat}} (
beeB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
-flat; also called
si bémol) is the eleventh
semitoneA semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant. The most commonly written form of this interval is the minor second, notated using two adjacent letter names A semitone, also called a...
of the Western
chromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a nondiatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step intervals," having, "no tonic," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
(starting from C).
It lies a diatonic semitone above
ALa or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
and a chromatic semitone below
BB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
, thus being
enharmonicIn modern music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
to A{{music although in some
musical tuningIn music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical basis.-Tuning practice:...
s, B{{music|flat}} will have a different sounding pitch than A{{music|sharp}}.
When calculated in
equal temperamentEqual temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. In equal temperament tunings, an interval — usually the octave — is divided into a series of equal steps...
with a reference of A above
middle CC or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège.In Western music, the expression "Middle C" refers to the note "C" located exactly between the two staves of the grand staff and near the top and bottom, respectively, of the bass and soprano voices...
as 440
HzThe hertz is a unit of frequency. It is defined as the number of complete cycles per second. It is the basic unit of frequency in the International System of Units , and is used worldwide in both general-purpose and scientific contexts...
, the
frequencyFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
of the B{{music|flat}} semitone is approximately 466.164 Hz.
B (
beeB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
-flat; also called
si bémol) is the eleventh
semitoneA semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant. The most commonly written form of this interval is the minor second, notated using two adjacent letter names A semitone, also called a...
of the Western
chromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a nondiatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step intervals," having, "no tonic," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
(starting from C).
It lies a diatonic semitone above
ALa or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
and a chromatic semitone below
BB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
, thus being
enharmonicIn modern music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
to A
{{otheruses|B-flat}}
B{{music|flat}} (
beeB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
-flat; also called
si bémol) is the eleventh
semitoneA semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant. The most commonly written form of this interval is the minor second, notated using two adjacent letter names A semitone, also called a...
of the Western
chromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a nondiatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step intervals," having, "no tonic," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
(starting from C).
It lies a diatonic semitone above
ALa or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
and a chromatic semitone below
BB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
, thus being
enharmonicIn modern music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
to A
{{otheruses|B-flat}}
B{{music|flat}} (
beeB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
-flat; also called
si bémol) is the eleventh
semitoneA semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant. The most commonly written form of this interval is the minor second, notated using two adjacent letter names A semitone, also called a...
of the Western
chromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone or half step apart. "A chromatic scale is a nondiatonic scale consisting entirely of half-step intervals," having, "no tonic," due to the symmetry or equal spacing of its tones....
(starting from C).
It lies a diatonic semitone above
ALa or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
and a chromatic semitone below
BB, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
, thus being
enharmonicIn modern music and notation, an enharmonic equivalent is a note , interval , or key signature which is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature, but "spelled", or named, differently...
to A{{music although in some
musical tuningIn music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical basis.-Tuning practice:...
s, B{{music|flat}} will have a different sounding pitch than A{{music|sharp}}.
When calculated in
equal temperamentEqual temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. In equal temperament tunings, an interval — usually the octave — is divided into a series of equal steps...
with a reference of A above
middle CC or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège.In Western music, the expression "Middle C" refers to the note "C" located exactly between the two staves of the grand staff and near the top and bottom, respectively, of the bass and soprano voices...
as 440
HzThe hertz is a unit of frequency. It is defined as the number of complete cycles per second. It is the basic unit of frequency in the International System of Units , and is used worldwide in both general-purpose and scientific contexts...
, the
frequencyFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
of the B{{music|flat}} semitone is approximately 466.164 Hz. See
pitch (music)Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre. When the actual fundamental frequency can be precisely determined through physical measurement, it may differ from the perceived pitch because...
for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.
While orchestras tune to an A provided by the
oboistThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, wind ensembles usually tune to a B-flat provided by a
tubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
,
hornThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, or
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
.
In much of continental Europe (especially Germany), this pitch is designated B, with H used to designate the Anglo-American B-natural. See
B (musical note)B, also known as Si or Ti, is the seventh note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the B note is approximately 493.883 Hz...
for an explanation.
{{Semitones}}
{{music-theory-stub}}