How do you phonetically pronounce all of the German note names?

Question

What is the phonetic pronunciation of every note name in German? So, all three iterations of every letter (flat, natural, and sharp) including E#, Cb, etc.

Also, how do you pronounce the German note names “B” and “H”? Is there a German equivalent for the English “B#” (such as “H#”?) and how would that be pronounced phonetically?

Answer 1

For those notes that are a letter of the alphabet, e.g. C, A, E, H, B (yes, that one, too) they are pronounced as the letter itself would be. Note, that English B is called H in German and English B flat is German B.

A sharp is rendered as the syllable -is added to the letter name. So C♯, D♯, E♯ would be cis, dis, eis. Note that eis is pronounced e-is, not like Eis (ice). His is no exception.

A flat is rendered as es appended to the letter’s name. The exceptions are A, E and H, which are As, Es and B respectively.

Double sharp is -isis appended to the letter. E.g. Fisis. Likewise, double flat is -eses. A double flat would be Ases, B double flat is Heses.

-Es is [ɛs], -is is [ɪs]; the double forms are twice that.

By themself, ♯ is called Kreuz and 𝄪 (probably not displayable) is a Doppelkreuz, ♭ is called B and ♭♭ is Doppel-B. Note the possible confusion that may arise from both ♭ (the sign) and B (the note B♭ in English) sharing the same name.

Answer 2

The German sequence of the basic notes (white keys on piano) is: C, D, E, F, G, A, H.

The system is simple. There is no »flat« or »sharp«, just the suffixes »-es« and »-is«. And you have to keep in mind, that the German name of the English B is H. There are five exceptions, they are written in boldface.

I will not talk about enharmonic, I guess you know about it.

• C Note
  • Cbb: written as »Ceses«, spoken: [ʦeses]
  • Cb: »Ces«, [ʦes]
  • C: »C«, [ʦeː]
  • C#: »Cis«, [ʦis]
  • C##: »Cisis«, [ʦisis]
• D Note
  • Dbb: »Deses«, [deses]
  • Db: »Des«, [des]
  • D: »D«, [deː]
  • D#: »Dis«, [dis]
  • D##: »Disis«, [disis]
• E Note
  • Ebb: »Eses«, [eses]
  • Eb: »Es«, [es]
  • E: »E«, [eː]
  • E#: »Eis«, [eːis] (do not mix up with [aɪ̯s]! Later is the pronunciation of the German word for ice or ice creme, not for the music note)
  • E##: »Eisis«, [eːisis]
• F Note
  • Fbb: »Feses«, [feses]
  • Fb: »Fes«, [fes]
  • F: »F«, [ɛf]
  • F#: »Fis«, [fis]
  • F##: »Fisis«, [fisis]
• G Note
  • Gbb: »Geses«, [ɡeses]
  • Gb: »Ges«, [ɡes]
  • G: »G«, [ɡeː]
  • G#: »Gis«, [ɡis]
  • G##: »Gisis«, [ɡisis]
• A Note
  • Abb: »Asas«, [asas]
  • Ab: »As«, [as]
  • A: »A«, [aː]
  • A#: »Ais«, [aːis]
  • A##: »Aisis«, [aːisis]
• B Note
  • Bbb: »Heses«, [heses]
  • Bb: »B«, [beː]
  • B: »H«, [haː]
  • B#: »His«, [his]
  • B##: »Hisis«, [hisis]

Addendum

The sign ♯ (that looks very similar to the sign #, but is different to it), which is written in a staff before a note's head to mark it as being a halftone higher, is called »Kreuz« ([kʀɔɪ̯ʦ]). This sign can also be part of a staffs key signature.

The sign 𝄪 before a note's head marks it as two halftones higher and is named »Doppelkreuz« ([ˈdɔpl̩ˌkʀɔɪ̯ʦ]) in German. This sign can not be part of a staffs key signature.

To mark a note as one halftone lower, you use the sign ♭ before a notes head or in the key signature. Since it looks like the letter b (from which it is different!) it is named »B« ([beː]) in German.

To make a note two halftones lower you use the sign 𝄫 (before a notes head only, never as part of a key signature). It's German name is »Doppel-B« ([ˈdɔpl̩ˌbeː].

To cancel all four of these signs there is the sign ♮ (which also looks similar to #, so be careful with that!). Its German name is »Auflösungszeichen« ([ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzʊŋsˈʦaɪ̯çn̩]]) (verbatim: annulment-sign). But be careful: This sign has barely nothing to do with »resolution« (of a dissonant accord into a consonant accord), with is »Auflösung« in German too.