What do two flats mean

Enharmonic notes are notes with different names but played with the same key. In most instances, when you come across a double flat sign, you are to play a white key.

But this is not always the case. Cbb is a black key on your piano. The other exception is Fbb which corresponds to Eb, a black key on your piano. This is because Cb points to the natural key B, and Fb points to the natural key, E.

Go down by one more semitone and you end up on a black key. Why not just write C? Why write Dbb. Why not F instead of Gbb? This is a question often asked by beginners. Instead of alternating between writing G natural and G flat, you could simply write an A double-flat, and indicate that one should play G. As a result, less accidentals are used. This makes it simpler and less confusing. In a musical piece, a double flat symbol alters the pitch of the note to which it is attached, as well as any subsequent occurrence of the same note in the same measure.

These notes have to be on an identical line or space. If they are in a higher or lower octave, they are not affected. Any notes in the new measure that are not tied, go back to their original pitch, as indicated by the key signature. A double-flat is always indicated by two flat signs, regardless of the key signature.

But as we go forward - keep in mind that we cannot change any of those letters. We already know they must be there in that order. So - next rule I used to remember it this way: "a major scale is all whole steps except from the third degree to the fourth degree and the seventh to the eighth which are half steps.

Or Mi to Fa and Ti to Do. At his point we have to analyze each 'pair' of notes - in order from left to right - by asking "what the interval is now", what interval do we want it to be - and do we need to change anything or can we move on Here we go:. Hold on! Did you notice my problem? So like before with the E F G thing, one change will fix both issues: let's raise the C to a C and now we have a major scale:.

Anyway - I've shown here a valid reason for needing double sharps and double flats - to follow the rules of major scale construction - the more common use of double sharps and double flats would be to indicate the "job" or "role" of the note in it's specific context. For example, if I'm playing a song in G major but then start noticing the use of D regularly I can usually safely assume that we've modulated to the relative minor key of Em and the D is being used as a leading tone as in the E Harmonic Minor scale.

A 'raised seventh' in E minor - or an 'augmented fifth' in the context of G major. So - same example - but let's start in B Major and modulate to the relative minor of G m and now we want a raised seventh degree of the G m scale - that's an F double sharp - the leading tone - by 'raising the seventh degree a half step from F to F double sharp. G natural might be easier to deal with - but it wouldn't be a 'raised seventh'.

How would you propose we raise the leading tone of a minor if not with the use of a double sharp? Sometimes notes with sharps in front of them also have to be raised by a semitone and this is where double sharps come in. One benefit of using F x instead of G Natural in a key where G is sharp e. It would be unfortunate to write G Natural, then G again in the same bar.

Better to write the F x and leave the subsequent G notes alone, i. From a music theory point of view the double sharps and flats are necessary to preserve the relationship between the notes and the key. I'll explain by example. The formula for building chords is to stack thirds every other note. I was just playing through "Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho", and in bar 6 encountered a double sharp.

It's there because the piece is in the key of G, the first chord of the bar includes a D D B F B , so the ensuing D natural, followed by another D would be much more awkward to notate and read than D. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Purpose of double-sharps and double-flats? Ask Question. Asked 10 years, 6 months ago.

Active 1 year, 7 months ago. Viewed 70k times. In a few pieces of music I have read through, I have come across double-sharps and flats. Improve this question. Ian Cordle Ian Cordle 1, 1 1 gold badge 8 8 silver badges 5 5 bronze badges. AFAIR its mainly a formal notation issue. You can augment notes in the scale, so if F is a note in the scale, but G is not say in the scale of A-major.

But that is just my recollection - which is why this is a comment. Just off the top of my head, I know that I have encountered them in Bach and Beethoven at the very least.

Noldorin : See the first movement of Moonlight Sonata from Beethoven ; there is 2 or 3 double-sharps there. PatrickDaSilva: I already accepted they exist if you read up. Now too many, but from time to time Noldorin : I was just giving you an explicit example ; I came across double sharps and asked a question here myself about them, this is why I found this question.

Show 4 more comments. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. For example: In the G harmonic minor scale, what's the seventh note? And it has to be a half-step below G. So it must be an F. G-A in F major. RosieF but the idea that any pitch has a fixed frequency in just intonation is false.

In just intonation based on C, F sharp and G flat have different frequencies, but F sharp has different frequencies depending on whether its the third of a D major chord or the fifth of a B chord whether major or minor. Add a comment. Mark Lutton Mark Lutton 8, 21 21 silver badges 36 36 bronze badges. Yes, that's where the analogy breaks down. If they sound different to you because one is in a major chord and the other is in a minor chord but they mean the same because they are played on the same key, they are synonyms.

Off topic: I'm a Zappa fan too. I'm a Zappa fan, but I have some doubts. Recently listening to composers like Stravinsky and Schoenberg and I'm questioning Zappa. IMO he was often more interested in shock value than pure musical expression he did have to make a living. Some of his alumni have said as much.

Stinkfoot - there will be cases, such as played on continuously variable pitch instruments such as violins, where B and C are not the same note or played at the same pitch. Stinkfoot "Here" and "hear" are homo phones , no? I think the analogy is spot on: same sound, different spelling. Not really so with enharmonics - C and Db have exactly the same value on the piano. But you could quibble and say that C and Db are also entirely different values - they come from different scales and function differently.

I wouldn't entirely object to that argument either Show 2 more comments. The flat or sharp symbols not yet considering double-sharps and double-flats, we'll get to that are used for two purposes: to indicate how the diatonic notes of a key different from the notes in the key of C to indicate how chromatic notes differ from the diatonic notes It's in the latter case you encounter double-sharps and double-flats.

Community Bot 1. James Tauber James Tauber 3, 1 1 gold badge 17 17 silver badges 25 25 bronze badges. Edgar Gonzalez Edgar Gonzalez 2, 2 2 gold badges 18 18 silver badges 23 23 bronze badges. The G major example is why most musicians prefer to plan in flat keys. Less to think about even though the notes are enharmonic. Actually, it has been scientifically proven that "B" is the " happiest " musical note. Also, I learned in one of my college music theory classes that Eb minor is the "saddest" key , the second saddest is the key of A.

The Happiest key is F which is surprising since the happiest note is B. The key signature is a group of sharps or a group of flats that tells you the key of the written music. The key signature shows the unique group of sharps or flats contained in the key. The key signature is written on the staff after the clef symbol and before the time signature. What does two flats in a key signature mean?

Category: video gaming music and party video games. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B- flat minor not enharmonically A-sharp minor. What key is 3 flats? E-flat major. What note is a double flat? What is the purpose of a double flat? Does F flat exist? Is there a Triple flat? What note is equivalent to C flat?

What note is a flat? What is the saddest key? D Minor.