The Happy Musician

Today’s post is short, but these apply to our next post, key signatures. This post is about the three main accidentals, so let’s learn some more!

Note before we begin: All of these symbols in notation will be on the left side of the note. You will NEVER see an accidental to the right of a note in correct notation.

The first note above has a symbol to the left of it that looks like a flag with the poles on either side. This is called a natural. A natural makes any note its regular self. If you had an F sharp (coming up later), the sign before the first note above would make that note a regular F. The natural sign lasts for the whole measure, so if an F sharp becomes an F with this sign, it would continue like that until specified to change, or until the measure ends.

The second note is a flat. The flat sign looks like a squashed “b.” It lowers the pitch of a note by one half step. If you took an A and added this sign to it, it would then be an A flat. If you flatted a sharp, the note would become its natural self because the sharp and the flat cancel each other out. For instance, if you took an F sharp and flatted it, it would be “F-sharp-flat,” which is just F. The same would apply if you had sharped a flat. A flat continues for a whole measure (unless specified) when the symbol is to the left of the note.

The last note has a sign that looks like a hashtag symbol. This is a sharp. A sharp does the opposite of a flat. It raises the pitch of a note a half step. If the sharp sign is to the left of a note, the note stays sharp for the entire measure unless otherwise indicated.

Note: The “indication” I speak of to change a note means a flat, a natural, or a sharp to change the note in a measure.

Another note: The keys “F-flat” and “C-flat” are the same as “E sharp” and “B-sharp.” There is no need to call these notes by the accidental, simply keep it in the natural – if you mean “F-flat” or “C-flat,” just call them E or B unless you’re in a very specific key signature that requires you to call them these names.

If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to let me know! There is a “contact” link at the top right corner of my home page, and there is a comment box at the bottom of every post I make, so drop a comment in either of those places if you’re still confused. Thanks for reading, and I will see you guys on Wednesday!

Post photo by Musika Music Lessons

Cover photo by Edward Eyer