Sharps or Flats?

[Bill Yellow]

Originally Posted by cotten

we only know 5 chords

Dang. You mean I gotta learn another 2?

[Eric S.]

I always carry a pocket knife, and I hate changing tires. Ergo I prefer sharps to flats.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by cotten

Sharps or Flats? I think it would be interesting to have musicians vote on which they prefer, sharps or flats. Pianists probably prefer flats. Brass players likely prefer sharps. We guitarists don't really care - we only know 5 chords and have our trusty capos. Concussionists are too busy drumming on nearby flat surfaces to hear the question. Which do you prefer, and why?

cotten

I know almost nothing about music notation but I prefer flats because I’m accustomed to seeing chord names with the flat designation rather than sharp.

Why have flats and sharps at all? Why not give each half-note its own letter designation? For example, Ab would be B and B would be C and Bb would be D. Perhaps there is a good reason for not giving half notes a separate name and I’m merely showing my notation illiteracy by asking.

[mr. beaumont]

I like whatever makes the music easier to read.

Being that 99% of what I read is jazz music, you can bet my sight reading is a heck of a lot better in "flat" keys! Please no F# major tunes, please!

[dekutree64]

I like my woodworking planes to be sharp and flat

[Jeremy]

Originally Posted by cotten

We guitarists don't really care - we only know 5 chords and have our trusty capos.

There you go. Without a capo, sharps. With, doesn't matter.

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by cotten

<<snip>>

Concussionists are too busy...

<<snip>>

No, they're not too busy...just brain-damaged...

Flats. If I hit a note flat, I can bend it up and it sounds cool. If I hit it sharp I'm stuck.

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by A-Mac

Flats. If I hit a note flat, I can bend it up and it sounds cool. If I hit it sharp I'm stuck.

Need you a whammy bar

[DesertTwang]

I don't understand the question. Aren't sharps and flats exactly the same thing?

I admit that despite having a basic understanding of music theory, I still don't fully grasp why there are sharps and flats when say, an F sharp and a G flat stand for the same exact note. I know it has to do with keys and the circle of fifths, but I don't really get it.

[cmd612]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

I don't understand the question. Aren't sharps and flats exactly the same thing?

I admit that despite having a basic understanding of music theory, I still don't fully grasp why there are sharps and flats when say, an F sharp and a G flat stand for the same exact note. I know it has to do with keys and the circle of fifths, but I don't really get it.

I took the question to mean "do you prefer playing in keys with sharps or in keys with flats?" but maybe that's not what the cotten meant.

Beyond that, does this article help?

http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/WhyG.html

[cotten]

Originally Posted by cmd612

I took the question to mean "do you prefer playing in keys with sharps or in keys with flats?" but maybe that's not what the cotten meant...

Yes, exactly, and I appreciate both the serious answers and the silly. Oh, and the seriously silly!

cotten

[LSemmens]

Originally Posted by cmd612

I took the question to mean "do you prefer playing in keys with sharps or in keys with flats?" but maybe that's not what the cotten meant.

Beyond that, does this article help?

http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/WhyG.html

Takes me back to my high school days. Thanks for that. Had forgotten all about temperament in music. I just knew the notes and forgot the physics and mathematics behind it, though it did fascinate me way back when. Thank you.

[Uncle R.]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

I don't understand the question. Aren't sharps and flats exactly the same thing?

I admit that despite having a basic understanding of music theory, I still don't fully grasp why there are sharps and flats when say, an F sharp and a G flat stand for the same exact note. I know it has to do with keys and the circle of fifths, but I don't really get it.

Originally Posted by cmd612

I took the question to mean "do you prefer playing in keys with sharps or in keys with flats?" but maybe that's not what the cotten meant.

Beyond that, does this article help?

http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/WhyG.html

My knowledge of musical theory is threadbare at best. I've had friends who were better educated try to explain to me why F# and Ab are NOT exactly the same thing but I confess I never really got it. If I understand the link above correctly, they are really two slightly different frequencies, but on keyed or fretted instruments we compromise ("temper") and make them the same.

That begs the question - in the real world where we play our pianos and guitars aren't they the same note?

Can someone help me understand?

Thanks:
Uncle R.

[cotten]

Originally Posted by Uncle R.

My knowledge of musical theory is threadbare at best. I've had friends who were better educated try to explain to me why F# and Ab are NOT exactly the same thing but I confess I never really got it. If I understand the link above correctly, they are really two slightly different frequencies, but on keyed or fretted instruments we compromise ("temper") and make them the same.

That begs the question - in the real world where we play our pianos and guitars aren't they the same note?

Can someone help me understand?

Thanks:
Uncle R.

You're on the right track, though it's F# and Gb that are the same actual pitch on a piano or guitar. That is in what we call today "12-tone equal temperament." That's where frequencies of an octave is divided into twelve equal parts. You can look that up and read all kinds of scholarly articles about it, but the effect is what you said.

1. C
2. C# or Db
3. D
4. D# or Eb
5. E
6. F
7. F# or Gb
8. G
9. G# or Ab
10. A
11. A# or Bb
12. B

cotten