A flat (♭) lowers a note by one semitone, the very next key to the left, black or white.
Same rules as a sharp: inside a measure it applies to that pitch for the rest of the bar; in the key signature it applies to every octave for the whole piece.
How to spot it
Play the Flat (Notation Glossary)
Tap the highlighted keys — any order.
B
A♯
A flat (♭) lowers a note by one semitone, the very next key to the left, black or white.
A symbol like a lower-case b immediately to the left of a note head, or after the clef in the key signature.
Find it in thirty seconds
Play any white key, then the key immediately to its left. Do it from C and notice you land on a white key, B. Flats are not always black keys either.
Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.
Related Topics...
How to Read Sheet Music: Learn how to read sheet music using interactive lessons from Chordzy. Or browse our various reading music topics.
Music Notation Glossary: Every symbol on a page of piano music, explained in one sentence each, clefs, note values, rests, accidentals, dynamics and repeat marks.
Accidental: Accidental in piano music. An accidental is any sharp, flat or natural written in front of a note, changing its pitch for the rest of that measure.
Key Signature: Key Signature in piano music. The key signature is the group of sharps or flats just after the clef. It applies to every note of those letter names, in every o…
Natural Sign: Natural Sign in piano music. A natural (♮) cancels a sharp or a flat, returning the note to its unaltered pitch for the rest of the measure.
Sharp: Sharp in piano music. A sharp (♯) raises a note by one semitone, the very next key to the right, black or white.
Readers Also Look For
Double Flat: Double Flat in piano music. A double flat (♭♭) lowers a note by two semitones, two keys to the left.
C Flat Major Scale (Piano): The C-flat major scale is C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ C♭, with seven flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭, F♭). Notes, piano fingering for both hands, key signature and chor…
More in This Section
Grand Staff: Grand Staff in piano music. The grand staff is the pair of staves piano music is written on: treble clef on top for the right hand, bass clef underneath for th…
Half Note: A half note on the piano staff: how to spot the hollow head, and a thirty-second hunt for one on a real page.
