Flats and Sharps on a Piano

Music flats and sharps are different from other sharps and flats. Here are some of the other kinds:

“Ouch, that’s sharp! Wait a minute. It’s actually dull and flat; this cut is from before.”

“You look sharp. On second thought, you look flat, uninspired and in need of a shower.”

“I feel sharp today. Actually, I feel kind of flat…and it’s your fault!”

And now we will give you the musical explanation.

For the most part, flats and sharps are the black notes on a piano. If, for example, you play a middle D on your keyboard (located between the group of two black notes), the black note to the right of the D is a D sharp (D#) and the black note to the left of the D is a D flat (Db).

A sharp raises a note to the very next key on the right side and similarly a flat lower a note to the very next key on the left side. Usually the raised or lowered note becomes a black key but not always. For example, C flat is actually a B. Here is a video for a complete visual demonstration.

Go on back to the Piano Lessons 101 piano lessons page.