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Lesson 5: Sharps & Flats

This lesson teaches the names of the black-key pitches, using sharps and flats.

Before taking this lesson, you should know: the names of the white-key pitches on the keyboard (Lesson 3: Pitch Names and Lesson 4: Letters Game).

In music, sharp means "raise the pitch" and flat means "lower the pitch". Here are the symbols for sharp and flat:
♯ = sharp (raise the pitch)
♭ = flat (lower the pitch)


We use "sharp" and "flat" to name the black pitches. For example, the black pitch just above C is called C sharp (C♯). But this black pitch is also just below D, so it can also be called D flat (D♭). Here it is on the keyboard:



Now we can name all the black pitches:



Notice that every black pitch has two names; it can be named with either sharp ♯ or flat ♭. Study the keyboard above until you understand how to name all the pitches, white and black.

Next:
Learn about half-steps and whole-steps in Lesson 6: Half-Steps & Whole-Steps, which you will need to understand scales, chords, and melodies.