Raising (sharpening)
Raising a note by a semitone (sharp) or a whole tone (double sharp), e.g. from C to C-sharp.
What it means
Raising, or sharpening, means lifting a note by a semitone or, with a double sharp, by two semitones. C becomes C-sharp and F becomes F-sharp. In German the raised degree is named by a fixed rule: the ending “-is” is added to the note name, and “-isis” for a double raising.
In the notation
The raising is shown by the sharp sign (♯) placed directly before the note, or by the double sharp (𝄪). When it appears as an accidental within a bar, it holds for that pitch until the end of the bar; when it stands in the key signature at the start of the staff, it applies to all notes of that name in every octave.
Musical use
Raised notes characterise the sharp keys, in which certain degrees are permanently raised, and they appear as leading tones, such as the raised seventh degree in minor. In chromaticism they produce upward-striving semitone steps. A raised note is normally continued upward.
Raising should be distinguished from lowering, its counterpart with the flat sign, and from the natural sign, which returns a previously raised or lowered note to its original degree. Sonically, a raised note and the corresponding lowered note coincide on tempered instruments, such as C-sharp and D-flat; they differ in spelling and harmonic interpretation.
Performance practice
When reading, remember that an accidental within a bar applies to all following notes of the same pitch up to the barline. On string instruments and in singing, a raised note is often tuned slightly higher so that, as a leading tone, it points clearly toward its target.