Accidentals

1. Accidentals Classical Voice Conservatory- Theory I

2. Review: Half Steps and Whole Steps

3. Review: Half Steps and Whole Steps • Before we can proceed with accidentals, we must first recall half steps and whole steps. • In reference to the keyboard, a whole step (or whole tone) is the distance from one key to the next key, with a key in between. Key in between whole step key in between key in between

4. Review: Half Steps and Whole Steps • A Half Step (or semi tone) is the distance from one key to the very very next, with NO KEY in between.

5. Now that we have refreshed our memory, we can now talk about accidentals. Yay! :D

6. Accidentals The Sharp

7. The Sharp- Symbol • A sharp sign looks like a twitter hashtag. But it’s not used for social media.

8. Sharp Sign: What it Means • When you see a sharp sign attached to a note, this indicates that you are to play/sing the note a HALF STEP HIGHER! • Please note that it’s a half step higher, NOT a whole step higher. F sharp :D

9. So instead of playing or singing this: • You play/sing this: Half step higher: F# Regular F: F natural

10. Placement • When you write a note with a sharp sign, YOU MUST PLACE IT TO THE LEFT OF THE NOTE ON THE STAFF! (Actually this rule applies to all accidentals.) On the left side! Always!!

11. Drawing the Sharp Sign • There is a right and a wrong way to draw a sharp sign!

12. The Right Way • If the note is a space note, the center of the sharp sign must be in the same space as the note head! • If the note is a line note, the center of the sharp sign must be on the same line as the note head! center is on same space as note head

13. Sharp Signs as Applied to Music Reading

14. The Rules • The first thing you must note is that a measure is everything that is in between two bar lines. The barlines act as a kind of border between measures.

15. A sharp sign will last for an entire measure. Occurs before the sharp sign, so is not sharp. Rules go into effect. This C is still sharp, as well as the one after.

16. Once the music passes a barline, the sharp sign is cancelled. If you want that note to be sharp again, you must place another sharp sign on that note. You will have to do this for every measure. Sharp sign is placed again. Barline: sharp no longer in effect

17. Please also note that sharp signs do not apply to notes of different octaves. • For instance, if you have middle C as a sharp note, followed by a C an octave higher, the sharp only applies to all middle C’s in that measure. • If you want the C that’s an octave higher to be sharp, you will have to label that with a sharp sign as well. This applies to all clefs. Now it’s sharp! Not sharp- different octave so sharp sign does not apply. Sharp because of the sharp sign.

18. Cancelling sharps • If you have two notes that are exactly the same, and the first one has a sharp sign, but you don’t want the second one to be sharp, you have to cancel it out with a natural sign.

19. The natural sign • The natural sign will indicate to sing or play that note in its original state. So C# becomes regular ol’ C again. Natural sign cancels sharp in same measure. Sharp lasts whole measure

20. Questions • I think at this point I covered everything, so if you have any questions, now is the time to ask! :D