Sharps (♯) and Flats (♭)

Sharps and Flats tend to be intimidating at first, but there are really only a few things to remember.  The most important thing to know is that note names are essentially labels for different frequencies. Every note is equal, and a C isn’t any more important than a C# in the world of music. Unless you have “perfect pitch,” you would not be able to tell the difference between a C or a C# unless you had some musical context.  

What makes the note A an A?  It’s just a label that notes was given hundreds of years ago. 

Why do they call the note C….a C? That’s just how they label it.   

Sharps and Flats are just labels too, however these notes have two different labels depending on context.

In the graphic above, I have shown you our full 12-note musical alphabet, starting on the 1st fret of the B-string (which is a C) and continuing up one octave until I reached the next C.  There is a note on the second fret, which has TWO LABELS. 

It says C# AND Db.  Depending on context, we can use either label, but here’s what they mean:

• A sharp symbol ( # ) resembles a hashtag and means to raise by one note.
• A flat symbol (♭) resembles a lower case B and means to lower by note.  

Since it’s one note ABOVE C, it’s a C#.  Since it’s also one note BELOW D, it’s also a Db.  It’s either or both!

We’ll talk about context later in a lesson, but rest assured that this system will make much more sense than having a musical alphabet with 12 entirely different note names.  Having the notes, A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L would have made learning music theory infinitely more complex……

So that’s it, if it’s a sharp it means the note ABOVE, if it’s flat it means the note BELOW. The only other thing you need to notice right now it that there is NO sharp/flat note between E & F or B & C.

On the next page we’ll learn about how we HEAR music!