halfsharps

Halfsharps are microtonal accidentals used in certain tuning and notation systems to indicate pitches that lie between the standard pitch classes of equal temperament. In many schemes, a halfsharp designates a pitch about 50 cents above the natural note, i.e., halfway between the natural and its sharp. This places the halfsharp outside the conventional sharp/flat pair used in 12-tone equal temperament.

There is no single universal symbol or standard for halfsharps. Notation varies by tradition and score, and a halfsharp may be shown as a sharp with a diagonal slash, a specially shaped half-sharp sign, or described in the score’s explanatory notes. Because practice differs across composers and systems, the exact pitch value of a halfsharp can depend on the context and the intended temperament.

Usage and context: halfsharps are most commonly found in microtonal music that uses quarter-tone or other nonstandard divisions of the octave. They allow composers to preserve certain theoretical spellings or tonal relationships that would be awkward or misleading if restricted to whole semitone steps. In performance, musicians rely on the specified temperament or tuning for accurate realization of the halfsharp, since its actual pitch is not fixed by 12-tone convention.

Relation to other notation: halfsharps sit alongside other microtonal accidentals such as quarter-tones, half flats, and extra sharps or flats used in nonstandard tunings. They are part of a broader effort to describe pitches beyond the limits of traditional Western notation, enabling finer pitch control in contemporary and experimental music.