Loading…
Loading…
Notes or chords that sound the same but are spelled differently (e.g., C♯ = D♭). Enharmonic reinterpretation can pivot between remote keys.
Enharmonic reinterpretation is a powerful modulation technique. A diminished seventh chord can be respelled to resolve in four different keys. A German augmented sixth can be respelled as a dominant seventh, pivoting to a key a half-step away. Schubert and Chopin exploit this constantly.
Schubert frequently respells diminished seventh chords enharmonically to pivot between remote keys — a technique that gives his music its characteristic harmonic surprise.
Enharmonic is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
Browse the full dictionary →