B, also known as Si, Ti, or, in some European countries, H, is the seventh

note Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...

and the twelfth

semitone A semitone, also called a minor second, half step, or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between ...

of the fixed-Do solfège. Its

enharmonic In music, two written notes have enharmonic equivalence if they produce the same pitch but are notated differently. Similarly, written intervals, chords, or key signatures are considered enharmonic if they represent identical pitches that ar ...

equivalents are C (C-flat) and A (A-double sharp). When calculated in

equal temperament An equal temperament is a musical temperament or Musical tuning#Tuning systems, tuning system that approximates Just intonation, just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into steps such that the ratio of the frequency, frequencie ...

with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

of Middle B (B₄) is 493.883 Hz. See

musical pitch Pitch is a perceptual property that allows sounds to be ordered on a frequency-related scale, or more commonly, pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies. ...

for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.

Designation by octave

Scales

Common scales beginning on B

B major B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...

: B C D E F G A B * B natural minor: B C D E F G A B * B

Harmonic minor The harmonic minor scale (or Aeolian ♮7 scale) is a musical scale derived from the natural minor scale, with the minor seventh degree raised by one semitone to a major seventh, creating an augmented second between the sixth and seventh degree ...

: B C D E F G A B * B

Melodic minor In Classical_music, Western classical music theory, the minor scale refers to three Scale (music), scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending). ...

ascending: B C D E F G A B * B melodic minor descending: B A G F E D C B

Diatonic scales

* B Ionian: B C D E F G A B * B Dorian: B C D E F G A B * B Phrygian: B C D E F G A B * B Lydian: B C D E F G A B * B

Mixolydian Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' or ''tonoi'', based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; or a modern musical mode or diatonic sca ...

: B C D E F G A B * B Aeolian: B C D E F G A B * B Locrian: B C D E F G A B

Jazz melodic minor

* B Ascending melodic minor: B C D E F G A B * B Dorian ♭2: B C D E F G A B * B Lydian augmented: B C D E F G A B * B

Lydian dominant In music, the acoustic scale, overtone scale, Lydian dominant scale (Lydian 7 scale), or the Mixolydian 4 scale is a seven-note synthetic scale. It is the fourth mode of the ascending melodic minor scale. : This differs from the major scal ...

: B C D E F G A B * B Mixolydian ♭6: B C D E F G A B * B Locrian ♮2: B C D E F G A B * B Altered: B C D E F G A B

Variation of meaning by geographical region

The referent of the musical note B varies by location. See for a discussion on other differences in letter naming of the notes. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Australia, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, and the Netherlands, as described above, B usually refers to the note a

below C, while

B-flat B-flat or B may refer to: * B (musical note) * B major * B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel m ...

refers to the note a

whole tone In Western music theory, a major second (sometimes also called whole tone or a whole step) is a second spanning two semitones (). A second is a musical interval encompassing two adjacent staff positions (see Interval number for more deta ...

below C. However, in Germany, Central and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, the label B is sometimes used for what, above, is called B-flat, and the note a

below C is called H. This makes possible certain spellings which are otherwise impossible, such as the

BACH motif In music, the BACH motif is the motif (music), motif, a succession of note (music), notes important or characteristic to a musical composition, piece, ''B flat, A, C, B natural''. In Letter notation, German musical nomenclature, in whi ...

and the

DSCH motif DSCH is a musical motif used by the composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself. It is a musical cryptogram in the manner of the BACH motif, consisting of the notes ''D, E-flat, C, B natural'', or in German musical notation ''D, Es, C, H'' ( ...

(the latter of which also uses the "S" name for what in Anglophone would be

E-flat E-flat may refer to: * E♭ (musical note) * E-flat major * E-flat minor * E-flat tuning, on a guitar * "E Flat Boogie", a 1980 single by American funk band Trouble Funk See also * E-flat clarinet The E-flat (E) clarinet is a member of the clar ...

References

{{Semitones Musical notes