Is Cb the same note as B?

Let's ARGUE!

0:00 Intro
3:05 Cb vs B Tune
4:10 All About Functions
6:29 Why Cb is a different pitch from B
10:25 Sensitivity to difference
13:02 Music can be complicated

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[joshkary]

My music teacher in college simply said “call them enharmonic equivalents so you can sidestep the entire discussion.” He was wise beyond his years

[samumohacsi]

I appreciate how you manage to be so educational and so annoying at the same time. love you.

[saoirsedeltufo]

As a trombonist, the difference between Cb and B makes more sense to me than it probably does for someone coming from (say) a piano background. Vibes based!

[Zetyt]

As a harpist, for me Cb and B are even played on different strings and I have a way easier time using enharmonics when the notes are written as such on the paper as well. :)

[joekerins]

You starting your video description with "LET'S ARGUE!" had me expecting the appearance of a certain bespectacled melon man

[yetsumari]

My favorite scale is C Major, but with every note spelled as C. Root=C, 2=C double sharp, 3=C quadruple sharp, 4=C quintuple sharp, 5=C septuple sharp, 6=C nonuple sharp, 7=C undecuple sharp, 8=duodecuple sharp.

Modern theory really overcomplicates things when you find out that everything is in C if you add enough accidentals to your frame of mind.

Seriously though, Music Theory is descriptive, not prescriptive. Language is for communicating, and spelling C flat in the wrong context is a lesser of the same sort of failing as trying to read a C quintuple flat first inversion add 13

[therealzilch]

This is not really a complicated question, but it has two answers. One: Cb and B are the same pitch in equal temperament, but have different harmonic functions in tonal music. Two: Cb and B have different pitches in many tunings other than equal temperament.

[DeJota__]

As a drummer, I don't know what is going on.

[briancase]

For a singer, for a violinist, for any instrument where the player gets to choose the actual pitch, they might be different.

[morbidkoala]

From an artist’s background, this feels like how grey-yellow acts when painted over a skin color (and other weird context based colors). You would never look at it and say that it looked grey yellow - you say it’s blue. But over a purely white background, it looks grey yellow. You’d never put down grey yellow on a white background when you want blue, but you do it when you want blue on skin tones. They’re technically the same exact on the color wheel, but it depends entirely on context how that color looks within the piece.

[supechube_k]

I want a full version of the B vs C♭ tune it was so beautiful 😍

[j.j.]

If I sing Cb my Jack Russell howls in B. The resolution is in tickling his belly and give him a treat.

[americansteve]

I like to think of this in the same way as homophones. Right and write sound the same when spoken, but they have different meanings and definitely should not be used interchangeably. Similarly, Cb and B sound the same when played on an instrument but logically you would not use B if you wrote a piece in Gb major. It all depends on context in my opinion.

[PFDarkside]

I’m sure Adam says this but “to”, “two” and “too” all sound the same, but they function differently.

Also, a new Don Draper “nostalgia” right before Christmas. Perfect.

[scottgray]

This always reminds me of the time I was stuck in detention and decided to calculate note frequencies. Knowing that an octave is 2 tines the frequency of the root, and that a perfect fifth is 1.5 times the root, I started at A440, multiplied by 1.5 twelve times, then divided by 2 seven times. I got 446 and a lot of places after the decimal. I assumed I must've missed a keystroke or something, and moved on. Only years later, when I learned about different temperaments, did I realize that I was correct all along, and nobody told me it shouldn't work out to begin with.

[jasonp]

14:04 “This feature has been thoroughly playtested.” ⭐️

[edmilham]

I used to sing in a VERY good chamber chorus, in which I learned great methods for tuning chords in a vocal ensemble. In a four-voice triad with a doubled root, we'd start by having the two parts singing the octave sing and hold their notes until they "locked in" to tune (hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it). Next, the part singing the fifth would come in and hold it until that locked in. Finally, the part singing the third would enter, and we'd all hold our notes until the whole chord locked in. When done this way, enharmonics in the context of different chords are certainly different pitches.

[cludysky]

the notes are like identical twins. They look and sound the same but they have different personalities, different names, different backstories, and different time births. The note depends on the context of the key. If the first twin was born first (B) they will probably end up being even the tiniest bit taller, while the second twin (Cb) will probably end up being the tiniest bit shorter. Different notes in context, same notes when heard.

[niix]

I like that audience insert, grey scale adam is way less antagonistic this time!

Also, I just yesterday had this discussion with a good friend of mine. She is a classical trained clarinetist while im a more or less selftaught guitarist. My point was that I understand why the distinction is made, but as a less experienced musician, it causes way less mental overhead for me to just regard the same pitches on my instrument as the same note. I can be more rigorous in my nomenclature once i make better music xD

[noneyabid]

Point: For those who didn't know...On today's modern (double-action) pedal harp, Cb and B are played using different strings. So, in a practical sense to us harpists, the difference matters.

Counter-Point: We harpists use enharmonics all the time. Need a B, but the B-pedal is in the flat position? Play a Cb instead.

Harp Bonus: This difference is what creates the glissando that everyone hears when they think of the harp. A C-major glissando is really B#-C-D-E-Fb-G-A-B# (etc.). It is 7 strings producing 5 pitches.