Possibly silly question ?

[Grambo]

Why is 'C' not B sharp and 'F' not E sharp.

The chromatic scale is A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# = 12

The hypothetical scale would be A, A#, B, B#,C,C#,D,D#,E,E#,F,F# =12

I'm probably missing something, is it to do with the layout of a piano ?

[magicninja]

C is B# and Cb is B. Same for F and E. There are some scales and chords that need a C to be a B# and whatnot if you want your theory to be dead on balls accurate on paper. I think anyway. My theory isn't all that great.

[Grambo]

Thanks - i know we're just changing the note name - on a guitar you would still play the same shapes - on a piano if all the black notes were sharps - there would be a black key between all the white keys.

I think I heard somewhere that Bach worked out the chromatic scale ?

[Grambo]

I was just thinking aloud - I know all the scales and chords are worked out from the chromatic.
I was just wondering if it would be more difficult to play the Keyboard with any other arrangement, and that was why the chromatic was devised?

[Jolly McJollyson]

on a piano if all the black notes were sharps - there would be a black key between all the white keys.

I think I heard somewhere that Bach worked out the chromatic scale ?
I don't have any idea what you mean here...

[Grambo]

Yes it is confusing
I was simply wondering, what the logic was behind B -C and E -F and wether playing the piano is easier this way - as all the black notes are sharps/flats and the white notes are c,d,e,f,g,a,b

[Grambo]

If there was a Tone instead of a half tone between B and C and like wise between E and F - and you still wanted to keep the black Keys sharps/flats.
You would have to totally re - design a piano keyboard.

Sorry if i'm harping on a bit, but the relationship between B and C and like wise E and F has always puzzled me ?....?

[Grambo]

The re- designed keyboard would be:

White/black/white/black/white/black/white/black/white/recurring.

extremely difficult to navigate, and some chords could be more difficult ?

[Jolly McJollyson]

If there was a Tone instead of a half tone between B and C and like wise between E and F - and you still wanted to keep the black Keys sharps/flats.
You would have to totally re - design a piano keyboard.

Sorry if i'm harping on a bit, but the relationship between B and C and like wise E and F has always puzzled me ?....?
Because there are a series of whole and half-steps in each scale, the scales with no sharps or flats, ie C major and A minor, go directly from B to C and E to F in a half step. Yes, if there were a whole-step between E and F or B and C, you would have to re-design the keyboard, but there is not a whole-step between these notes.

In the west, our music's smallest intervalic unit (typically) is the half-step. Our eight-note scales must consist of more than simply whole steps. 12 half steps between each octave gives you only 6 notes.

[Grambo]

Hmm, nice one, I suppose these music theories were worked out over hundreds of years - tricky stuff !

[Jolly McJollyson]

Hmm, nice one, I suppose these music theories were worked out over hundreds of years - tricky stuff !
Thousands, in fact.