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C♯ (C-sharp) is amusical note lying achromatic semitone aboveC and adiatonic semitone belowD; it is the secondsemitone of thesolfège. C-sharp is thusenharmonic toD♭. It is the second semitone in the Frenchsolfège and is known there asdo dièse. In some European notations, it is known asCis. In equal temperament it is also enharmonic with B
(B-double sharp/Hisis).
When calculated inequal temperament with a reference ofA abovemiddle C as 440Hz, thefrequency of C♯4 (the C♯ above middle C) is about 277.183 Hz.[1] Seepitch (music) for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.
Historically,concert pitch has varied. For an instrument inequal temperament tuned to theA440 pitch standard widely adopted in 1939, middle C#, the note abovemiddle C has a frequency around 277.18 Hz[2] (for other notes seepiano key frequencies).Scientific pitch was originally proposed in 1713 by French physicistJoseph Sauveur and based on the numerically convenient frequency of 256 Hz for middle C, all C's beingpowers of two, making the pitch of C# 276.8067 Hz. After the A440 pitch standard was adopted by musicians, theAcoustical Society of America published new frequency tables for scientific use. A movement to restore the older A435 standard has used the banners "Verdi tuning", "philosophical pitch" or the easily confusedscientific pitch.
| Scientific designation | Helmholtz designation | Octave name | Frequency (Hz) | MIDI note number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C♯−1 | C♯͵͵͵ or ͵͵͵C♯ or CCCC♯ | Subsubcontra | 8.662 | 1 |
| C♯0 | C♯͵͵ or ͵͵C♯ or CCC♯ | Subcontra | 17.324 | 13 |
| C♯1 | C♯͵ or ͵C♯ or CC♯ | Contra | 34.648 | 25 |
| C♯2 | C♯ | Great | 69.296 | 37 |
| C♯3 | c♯ | Small | 138.591 | 49 |
| C♯4 | c♯′ | One-lined | 277.183 | 61 |
| C♯5 | c♯′′ | Two-lined | 554.365 | 73 |
| C♯6 | c♯′′′ | Three-lined | 1108.731 | 85 |
| C♯7 | c♯′′′′ | Four-lined | 2217.461 | 97 |
| C♯8 | c♯′′′′′ | Five-lined | 4434.922 | 109 |
| C♯9 | c♯′′′′′′ | Six-lined | 8869.844 | 121 |
| C♯10 | c♯′′′′′′′ | Seven-lined | 17739.688 | N/A |
G♯ A♯ B♯ C♯ G A♯ B♯ C♯ G♯ A♯ B C♯