Every beginner who wants to understand musical theory encounters a lot of obscure and therefore terrible terms, namely: a sharp, a flat and a bacar.
No matter how terribly they sound, in reality the signs of alteration are simply necessary and not as complex as they are drawn.
Introduction to Theory
Before proceeding to the terminology of signs, you should understand the word "alteration", in particular, what does it have to do with this topic.
Alteration is a phenomenon in which the main (natural) steps of a fret are modified. They can both rise (go up the keys) and decrease (movement goes down).
If you dive into etymology, the word alteratio in Latin means "other".
Thanks to the alteration from each step, it is possible to build absolutely any mode (major, minor, Lydian, Neapolitan and other).
Also, under this term can also be meant an exacerbation of unstable sounds of the mode of attraction to notes included in the tonic triad. In this case, only those sounds that are located at a distance of a large second from the stable steps will be modified.
In major, it will look like this:
- the second stage will rise or fall;
- the fourth will rise;
- the sixth will decrease (the harmonic appearance of the major scale).
In minor:
- the second step will go down;
- the fourth can go both up and down;
- the seventh will always gravitate to the first (harmonic view of the minor scale).
The fret rise or fall in music gives a vivid expressive effect.
Sharp. What is it?
There are only 3 types of signs of alteration: sharp, flat and bacar.
The first of them - has the effect of increasing the sound by a semitone. Halftone is the shortest distance between notes that can only be in music.
On a letter, this musical sign is indicated by the grille "#" familiar to everyone on the telephone keypad.
However, in music, everything is quite complicated and often confusing. When reading scores, a symbol unlike the grid may appear, looking more like a cross. This mark is called a double sharp. This is a sign of alteration, also increasing the sound, but already by a whole tone (formed according to the scheme: semitone + semitone).
In practice, it looks like this.
The flat. What are you talking about?
Having dealt with the sharp, the obvious question arises: "Then what does the flat mean?". These two signs are opposites, "antonyms" of each other. Proceeding from this, the flat does everything exactly the opposite — it lowers the sound by half a tone.
On a stave, it is like a letter of the Russian alphabet - a soft sign.
If the principle of a flat is the same as that of a sharp, the presence of a double is also obvious - a flat, which lowers the note by a whole tone. However, it’s much easier to recognize it in the recording: the same sign is added next to it.
A good example is presented below.
Natural. What kind of symbol?
If everything is clear with the effect of raising and lowering, then why is the sign of the baker necessary? Everything is simple - it cancels all the symbols described above. Its effect extends only to the note in front of which it stands, and lasts one beat in the time interval.
In the past, a double-baker was used to cancel double-sharps and double-flat, but then for such cases the usual flat was used without any doubling.
In notes, it looks like the number "4", but instead of a triangle, it is closed with a square on top.
Sharp, flat and bakers on a stave
When the theory becomes understandable and the terms no longer seem terrifying, it is time for a practical introduction to the material studied.
The main rule to remember is this: all the signs of alteration are placed before the notes.
If in oral speech it is pronounced: “sharp sharp”, then with a thorough reading of the score it will be vice versa: sharp sharp.
This principle applies only to situations where the signs are temporary and sound either as a means of expressiveness or as an intermediate transition to another tonality. They act only once and for only one sound.
Key sharps and flats
The difference between the key signs of alteration is the following: they are indicated at the very beginning of the musical staff after the key and their effect extends to the entire work. Sharp and flat flats indicate the tonality in which the entire composition or a separate part of it is written.
It is worth clarifying that with the key, the signs of alteration can be either only sharp or flat. Mixing is impossible, since this situation obeys the laws of scales: the key contains either flats (for example, C minor), or sharps (D major).
Worth clarifying
For many, when mentioning the signs of alteration, a black key immediately pops up in the imagination. Undoubtedly, this association has a place to be, but by no means in all cases.
If there are any signs in the key, this already indicates that there are low or high sounds in the notes, and with temporary sharps / flats encountered in the course of the work, black keys can turn into white.
So, for example, in E minor, the key sign of alteration will be f-sharp, but under certain circumstances, in one of the measures, either f-bac or f-double-sharp will occur, which will change the key from black to white.
The same situation will be with the white keys fa and si. Raising them by half a tone, namely: from mi to m-sharp and from s to c-sharp will not make them black, since there simply is not this key between them.
Finally
Summing up, we can draw the following conclusions: this article clearly explained what sharps, flats and bakers mean, and was able to prove that in practice "the devil is not as scary as he is painted."
Signs of alteration are integral parts of the musical designer, which are worth special attention and detailed study.