MusicaLexica

In the last article I talked about what it means to add a sharp (#) or a flat (b) to a note name.  The sharp means "go up to the very next note," and the flat means "go down to the very next note."

I noted that Fb is the same note as E, and that even though there is a flat symbol, it’s not referring to a black key on the piano.  F could also be shown as E#, and for that matter C could also be described as B#, and B could be described as Bb.  Today we’ll look at what happens if we flat a note that’s already flatted, or sharp a note that is already sharped.  Can you guess what note Ebb refers to?

If you guessed D, pat yourself on the back.  Two flats mean to drop down two adjacent notes.  If we start at E and go down to the very next note, we’re at Eb.  If we then go down one more note, we’re at the white key of D.

So, even though there are only twelve notes in an octave, there are many ways of referring to the same notes.  How we refer to the note depends upon what key we’re in and what we’re trying to accomplish with a certain melody or chording.

If somebody points to a key on the piano and says "What key is this?" there’s no point in describing it as "G##" rather than "A."  But in the context of a particular song, it may make sense for a particular note to be described that way.