Basic Music Theory: How to Read, Write, and Understand Written Music

Basic Music Theory

Another common mistake is to write the accidental just anywhere in front

of the note it is supposed to alter, but actually, the accidental should be

written on the same line or space as the note it alters. Each accidental

has an open spot in the center which is placed on the line or space. You’ll

see what I mean in the examples to follow.

Remember that when notes are above or below the range of the staff they

need leger lines. Accidentals don’t need a leger line; they simply hang in

front of the note which uses the leger line.

Flats

A flat lowers the pitch of a note by a small amount (a half step, a term

you’ll learn in the next chapter). One way to remember a flat lowers a

note’s pitch is that when something is flattened, it’s lower than it was

before it was flattened.

Flats look a little like a squashed letter b (or maybe I should say flattened

letter b), and the open part in the center of the flat is the part which will

be on the line or the space. Although I’ve only shown you six notes

below, a flat can be used with any note.

Example 19.2 From left to right: B flat, D flat, E flat, A flat, B flat, D flat, and A flat.

Sharps

A sharp raises the pitch of a note by a small amount (also a half step) and

looks like a number symbol. The center of that little grid is where the

sharp should be centered on the line or space. Just like with flats, a sharp

can go in front of any note.