1. Reading Music: Sharps, Flats, and Keys
Mr. Test
Music Appreciation
TRHS South

2. Pitches on a Keyboard
The easiest way to understand pitches is to look at a piano keyboard.
Here is a section of the piano keys, with some common pitches highlighted: F G
Middle C

3. Accidentals
Accidentals are symbols that tell musicians to slightly raise or lower a pitch.
A sharp symbol looks like an italicized pound sign, and raises the pitch:
A flat symbol looks like an italicized lowercase b, and lowers the pitch:
A natural looks like a box with two extended lines, and tells the musician to use the basic (“natural”) pitch:

4. Accidentals Demonstrated: Sharps
Going up (raising pitch): F to F-sharp F

5. Accidentals Demonstrated: Flats
Going down (lowering pitch): G to G-flat G

6. Accidentals Demonstrated: Naturals
(Middle) C-natural: bass & treble clefs C

7. Reading & Writing Accidentals
Notice where the accidentals were placed in the music?
Why is that?... (take a guess)
Since we read music from left to right, musicians need to know if a note is sharp, flat, or natural before analyzing the note name.

8. Key Signatures
Often, due to the sound that composers and songwriters are after, certain notes need to stay sharp or flat for an entire work, or a section of a work.
Instead of writing the accidentals next to every single note, writers use a key signature.
A key signature is a set of one or more sharps/flats placed at the beginning of the staff; all of the notes with those NAMES (not just on those lines & spaces!) stay sharp/flat unless a natural sign is used.

9. Key Signature Example Key Signature Clef Time Signature
Here is a sample key signature:
In the beginning of the song, it is placed after the clef but before the time signature.
Remember, all of the notes with these NAMES are now flat (B-E-A), even if they occur on different lines/spaces/ledger lines.
Now do you see the importance of the natural sign?
Key Signature
Clef
Time Signature

10. Key Changes During a Song
To change the mood at certain points, music writers will often change the key signature in the middle of a work. When that happens, a double bar line is used, and naturals are used if necessary.
Here is an (extreme) example:
B, E, and
A are flat
Now, only B
is flat
Back to the
original key