Sharps And Flats

What are Sharps and Flats?

Sharps and flats are symbols we combine with the musical alphabet to describe pitch.

Sharp

We write Sharps like hashtag: #. It raises the pitch of a note by one step around the note circle in a clockwise direction. 

 

⬆️ Here's a fun way to remember this! When you sat on something SHARP, you would jump UP.

Flat

Flats look like a "b" with a pointy bottom (♭). It lowers the alphabet pitch by one step around the note circle in a counterclockwise direction.

 

⬇️ Here's a nice way to remember this! If your tire went flat, your car would drop down.

On Guitar

It is very easy to see on a guitar. For example, we find note A on fret 5 of the thickest string. If we go up in pitch by one fret, we would be on the note A#. If we went down from the A, we would be on the note Ab.

 

Enharmonic Equivalents

Notes that sound the same but have different names are called enharmonic equivalents. You can see on the note circle that two notes are on each clock step with sharps and flats! A# and Bb have the same pitch but different names.

Why this is important and useful is something that we cover as we go along the course. Don't bother with that question yet. The answer would be confusing, but it's nothing you need to worry about.

 

Summary Points

• Sharps (#) raise a note by one step (clockwise.)
   
• Flats (♭) lower a note by one step (counterclockwise.)
   
• Some notes sound the same but have different names, depending on how we reach them!
   
• Enharmonic Equivalents are their name if you want to show off!

 

👉 Now, up to Tones & Semitones!