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FAQ: What are Sharps and Flats in music?
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Q: You keep referring to G sharp this and A flat that. What does it mean?
A: On the guitar, the jump between two notes like G and A is called a whole-tone. Well, where there's a whole there's usually a half. The half notes between the whole tone keys are called semi-tones, or in more regular notation - sharps and flats.
In most cases, a sharp raises the pitch of a note one semitone while a flat lowers it a semitone. That means that D sharp (D#) is the note between D and E. And B flat (Bb) is the note between A and B.
Think of these notes as the notes in between the whole tones like G, C and A. This is exactly the way the piano portrays them. On the piano the black keys between the white ones represent the sharp and flat notes.
In most cases, a sharp raises the pitch of a note one semitone while a flat lowers it a semitone. That means that D sharp (D#) is the note between D and E. And B flat (Bb) is the note between A and B.
Think of these notes as the notes in between the whole tones like G, C and A. This is exactly the way the piano portrays them. On the piano the black keys between the white ones represent the sharp and flat notes.
A
B Flat
(or Bb)
(or Bb)
D
D Sharp
or (D#)
or (D#)
B
E
This is what it would look like on the guitar...
F
F#
G
Ab
A
