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{{short description|Keyboard key divided in two}}
[[File:Harpsichord.9023840.jpg|thumb|The keyboard of a harpsichord by Bernhard von Tucher (Germany). The keyboard has "divided black keys" in order to tune the instrument in two different keys (in meantone temperament).]]
[[File:FEINTES BRISEES.jpg|thumb|In this harpsichord built by Clavecins Rouaud of Paris, the two lowest sharps are split, following the [[short octave|broken octave]] scheme.]]
[[File:Archicembalo en Cents.jpg|thumb|Archicembalo keyboard in cents.]]

A '''split sharp''' is a kind of [[key (instrument)|key]] found in some early [[keyboard instrument]]s, such as the [[harpsichord]], [[clavichord]], or [[organ (music)|organ]]. It is a musical key divided in two, with separately depressible front and back sections, each sounding its own [[pitch (music)|pitch]]. The particular keys that were split were those that play the sharps and flats on the standard [[musical keyboard]] (the "[[piano keys|black keys]]" on a modern piano).

{{quote|Split sharp. A sharp key divided or 'split' into two parts: the front part is about one third the length of the whole. Usually the back part is set slightly higher to facilitate playing. Each part has its own [parts] so that two notes are available. In Italian instruments it was common...to provide split sharps for e{{music|flat}}/d{{music|sharp}} and g{{music|sharp}}/a{{music|b}}. The usual practice was to put on the front part the note that would normally be found there, e.g. e{{music|flat}} and g{{music|sharp}}.<ref>Ripin, Edwin M. (1989). ''Early Keyboard Instruments'', p.243. W. W. Norton. {{ISBN|9780393305159}}.</ref>}}

Split sharps served two distinct purposes. First, in the [[broken octave]], they allowed an instrument to include deep [[bass (sound)|bass]] notes while retaining a short, compact keyboard.

Second, in older music, [[musical tuning|tuning]] was generally not done by [[equal temperament]], which treats note pairs such as A{{music|#}} and B{{music|b}} as the [[enharmonic|same pitch]]. Instead, they were assigned slightly different pitches on [[enharmonic keyboard]]s (particularly in "[[meantone temperament]]"). This allowed certain [[interval (music)|musical intervals]], such as the [[major third]], to sound closer to their ideal [[Just intonation|just]] value, hence more closely tuned to [[just intonation]].{{efn|For a recent defense of the older tuning practices, see Duffin, Ross (2006) ''How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care)'' W.W. Norton & Co. {{ISBN|0-393-06227-9}}.}}

Split sharps present advantages and disadvantages: "Obviously this would have its advantages under some circumstances in terms of intonation. However, the complexities of [[Fingering (music)|fingering]] and hand position dictated by such a keyboard configuration presented problems."<ref>Donahue, Thomas (2005). ''A Guide to Musical Temperament'', p.36. Scarecrow. {{ISBN|9780810854383}}.</ref> Specifically: "Such devices were obviously an impediment to rapid scale work in the lowest bass register, but this does not matter greatly as Italian seventeenth-century music generally avoids writing of this kind."<ref>Bond, Ann (2001). ''A Guide to the Harpsichord'', p.37. Hal Leonard. {{ISBN|9781574670639}}.</ref>

In modern usage, split sharps are usually the method of choice for custom keyboards that play [[19 equal temperament]], which, like meantone, uses different pitches for sharps and flats that are enharmonic in the standard 12 tone.<ref>See: [http://www.n-ism.org/Projects/microtonalism.php www.n-ism.org]. "Historically, 19-tone keyboards have been constructed...with the rear of the divided black keys often raised."</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last1=Kottick |first1=Edward L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW0IAQAAMAAJ |title=Early Keyboard Instruments in European Museums |last2=Lucktenberg |first2=George |date=1997-05-22 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-33239-4 |language=en}}

{{Instrument tunings}}
{{Musical keyboards}}

[[Category:Musical keyboard layouts]]
[[Category:Musical tuning]]

Split sharp - Revision history

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