![]() ![]() A double flat (□) lowers a note by two half-steps (i.e. Sharps, flats, and naturals are the three most common accidentals.Ī double sharp (or ♯♯) raises a note by two half-steps (i.e. A natural (♮) looks like a tilted box with a line sticking out of the top left and bottom right corners, and it cancels a previous accidental such as a sharp or flat. A flat (♭) looks like a slanted lowercase “b,” and it lowers a note by a half-step. A sharp (♯) looks like a tilted hashtag, and it raises a note by a half-step. Sharps, Flats, and NaturalsĪn accidental changes the pitch of a note. Chelsey Hamm (Christopher Newport University) demonstrates the sound of a half-step and a whole-step. What do a half-step and a whole-step sound like? The short video, shown in Example 3, demonstrates:Įxample 3. A whole-step below the black key to the left of B is the black key to the left of the note A. For example, a whole-step above the black key to the right of C is the black key to the right of the note D. To find a whole-step from a black key you will want to count two keys to the right or left. A whole-step below C is the black key to the left of the note B, while a whole-step below F is the black key to the left of the note E. Likewise, to find a whole-step below the notes C or F, simply count two keys to the left. A whole-step above E is the black key to the right of the note F, while a whole-step above B is the black key to the right of the note C. To find a whole-step above the notes E or B, simply count two keys to the right. Pairs of white keys with a black key in between them (A and B, C and D, D and E, F and G, and G and A) are a whole-step apart. A piano keyboard with letter names on the white keys some whole-steps are labeled.Ī whole-step is the equivalent of two half-steps. Having the black keys grouped into sets of either two or three makes seeing and feeling them easier and quicker for a keyboardist.Įxample 2 shows a piano keyboard with the letter names of the white key pitches labeled, and some whole-steps bracketed: Example 2. The piano keyboard is arranged like this so that it is easier to play. This is because E to F is a half-step and B to C is also a half-step. Two pairs of white keys-E/F and B/C-do not have black keys in between them (see Example 1). One would say that this black key is a half-step above G and is simultaneously a half-step below A. In other words, the black key to the upper right of G is “in between” the notes G and A. Likewise, a half-step below a white key note (for example, the note A) is the black key to its upper left. On the piano keyboard (see Example 1) a half-step above a white key note (for example, the note G) is the black key to its upper right. The white keys some half-steps are labeled.Ī half-step is considered to be the smallest interval, or distance between two notes, in western musical notation. ![]() Half- and Whole-stepsĮxample 1 shows a piano keyboard with the letter names of the white key pitches, and some half-steps labeled: Example 1. Before we discuss the names of the black keys, however, we must first learn about half- and whole-steps. ![]() There are also black keys on the piano keyboard, which are grouped into alternating sets of two or three. In the last chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff, we discussed the letter names of the white keys on the piano keyboard. Notes have enharmonic equivalence when they are spelled differently but sound the same.Be sure to write accidentals to the left of a note, directly across the line or space on which a note appears.A double sharp raises a note by a whole-step, while a double flat lowers a note by a whole-step.A sharp raises a note by a half-step while a flat lowers a note by a half-step. An accidental changes the pitch of a note.A whole-step above a key on the piano is two keys to its right, while a whole-step below a key on the piano is two keys to its left. A half-step above a key on the piano is the key to its immediate right, while a half-step below a key on the piano is the key to its immediate left. ![]()
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