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2. Naming the black keys

1

To name any black key, start with the white key just to the left of it, then just add a sharp sign (#) to the note name. So, for example if we start on C, the black key to the right of it will be C#, from D it’ll be D# and so on. There is no black key to the right of E, but there is one next to F, so that’s F#. Same goes for G# and A#.

2

Hang on though – if you start from the white key immediately to the right of a black key and step down the keyboard to it instead of up, you b) Ab, add a flat sign ( to the name. So starting from A we’d go down to

Gb, from G down to and so on. There are no black keys to the left of C or F.

3

So each black key actually has two names, as black notes can either be referred to as sharps or flats, depending on which key you’re in. These pairs of names are known as enharmonic equivalents, for example C#

Db, and which are the two names for the key on the keyboard that lives between the white keys C and D.