Raising and Lowering the NotesSometimes we want to play something that doesn’t fit the scale (or key) we are in exactly. This is done by placing a symbol before the note. (These symbols are called accidentals.) There are a number of different symbols used in music to do this, but the most common ones are as follows:
flat — lowers note by one half step sharp — raises note by one half step natural — restores note to its normal pitch There also are symbols such as double-flats, double-sharps, and symbols for playing quarter-tones, but we will discuss these only when we encounter them.
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