Sharps, flats and enharmonic notes

Between most pairs of natural notes there is a fret with no name yet. This lesson names those notes, and explains why the same fret can have two correct names.

Sharp and flat

A sharp (♯) raises a note by a half step. C♯ is one fret above C.
A flat (♭) lowers a note by a half step. D♭ is one fret below D.

On the bass it is simple: one fret towards the body is ♯, one fret towards the headstock is ♭.

One pitch, two names

The note between C and D is one fret above C and one fret below D. So it can be called C♯ or D♭. Names that mean the same pitch are enharmonic: C♯ and D♭ are enharmonic equivalents.

There are five pitches between the natural notes, and each has a sharp name and a flat name:

The five pitches between the natural notes, with their sharp and flat names.
Sharp name	C♯	D♯	F♯	G♯	A♯
Flat name	D♭	E♭	G♭	A♭	B♭

The A string, frets 0–12, every fret named: A, A♯/B♭, B, C, C♯/D♭, D, D♯/E♭, E, F, F♯/G♭, G, G♯/A♭, A.

Sharps and flats on natural notes

A sharp or flat can also go on a natural note, even where there is no fret “in between”:

E♯ sounds as F, and F♭ sounds as E;
B♯ sounds as C, and C♭ sounds as B.

They look strange, but they are needed so that each letter appears once in a scale. You will see why in Module 5.

Double sharps and double flats

A double sharp (𝄪) raises a note by two half steps, and a double flat (𝄫) lowers it by two. For example, F𝄪 sounds as G, and B𝄫 sounds as A. You will meet them in some scales and chords, in Modules 6 and 10.

The natural sign

A natural sign (♮) cancels a sharp or flat written earlier, and brings the note back to its natural form.

All of these signs, ♯, ♭, ♮, 𝄪 and 𝄫, are called accidentals.

Which name is right?

If one fret can be G♯ or A♭, which name should you use? The rule of thumb, developed in later modules: the name depends on the key and on the job the note does, not on the fret. The same fret can be correctly called G♯ in one piece of music and A♭ in another.