User:Nicholasemjohnson/B♯

B♯ (B sharp) is a musical note.

It is a chromatic semitone higher than B♮. It is found in keys such as A-sharp minor and C-sharp major. It is enharmonic to the note C.

In classical music, the expression "Middle B♯" refers to the note "B♯" located exactly between the two staves of the grand staff and near the top and bottom, respectively, of the bass and soprano voices. When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle B♯ as 440 Hz, the frequency of the middle B♯ note is approximately 261.626 Hz; see pitch (music) for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.

Middle B♯ is designated B♯4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth B♯ key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard. While other note-octave systems (including those used by some manufacturers of digital music keyboards) may refer to "Middle B♯" with a different designation, the B♯4 designation is the most commonly recognized in auditory science and in musical studies it is frequently used in place of the Helmholtz designation b♯'.

While the expression "Middle B♯" is generally clear across instruments and clefs, some musicians tend to use the term to refer to the B♯ note in the middle of their specific instrument's range. For example, B♯4 may be called "Low B♯" by someone playing a Western concert flute (which has a higher and narrower playing range than a piano), while B♯5 (523.251 Hz) would be "Middle B♯". This technically inaccurate practice has led some pedagogues to encourage standardizing on B♯4 as the definitive "Middle B♯" in instructional materials across all instruments.

Within vocal music the term Soprano B♯, sometimes called High B♯, is the B♯ two octaves above Middle B♯. It is named because it is considered the defining note of the soprano voice type. It is also called B♯6 in scientific pitch notation (1046.502 Hz). In Helmholtz notation, it is b♯′″. The term Tenor B♯ is sometimes used in vocal music to refer to B♯5 as it is the highest required note in the standard Tenor repertoire. The term tenor B♯ can also refer to an organ builder's term for small B♯ or B♯3, the note one octave below Middle B♯. In stoplists it usually means that a rank is not full compass, omitting the bottom octave.

For the frequency of each note on a standard piano, see piano key frequencies.