Resolving enharmonic dissonances

[Bassoonery]

As far as I know (which isn't far), enharmonics aren't strictly speaking the same frequency due to acoustics, harmonics etc. (hence the way pianos are tuned)

BUT in practice and mainly becuase of the limitations of a piano keyboard in only providing an interval of a semitone as its smallest interval G# and Ab are considered to be the same.

So it depends whether you are talking about the true frequencies or those generally used in practice on instruments. I'm guessing the latter, in which case I don't see why they should need to be resolved.

But I might look it up later...

[stevel]

Originally Posted by Composer

I'm just talking about the interval G# to Ab - just a thought.

But after the Theory of Overtones by Schönberg, s should be a very dissonance.

Ummm. No. G# and AB are the same pitch. They're called enharmonic. If you go to a piano and play a G# and Ab at the same time you will produce the most consonant interval possible, an octave (or multiples thereof).

As some replies have mentioned, in some tuning systems a distinction is made between G# and Ab and in that case two players playing each might sound "out of tune" with each other, but otherwise the notes are identical.

Steve