Lesson 3: Sharps and Flats

In this lesson, you will learn about: Whole Steps and Half Steps Sharps and Flats Examples Key Signatures Practice Opportunity These concepts will help you understand how additional pitches are notated, and how relatively far apart in pitch notes are from each other.
	Whole Steps and Half Steps As you may recall from Lesson 1, there are 12 pitches in an octave, each of which is a "half step" apart. Yet (as you discovered in Lesson 2), only 7 letters of the alphabet are used to name notes. The remaining pitches are indicated by placing the symbols for sharps or flats in front of notes. On the staffs we have seen so far, all of the notes are a whole step apart with 2 exceptions: B and C are a half step apart E and F are a half step apart In a C Major scale, E and F are the 3rd and 4th notes to sound. B and C are the 7th and 8th notes to sound. Try playing the recordings at right. Can you hear that the half steps sound closer together than whole steps?	Listen Up! Half Steps In this recording, the notes B and C will sound, followed by E and F (in the treble clef). These notes are a half step apart. Whole Steps In this recording, the notes A and B will sound (in the treble clef). These notes are a whole step apart. Half and Whole Steps In this recording, the notes A, B and C will sound (in the treble clef). A and B are a whole step apart, while B and C are a half step apart. C Major Scale Chromatic scale Each of the notes in a chromatic scale are a half step apart.