What are enharmonic notes? They are two notes that SOUND the same but are written differently. This seems strange and totally unnecessary, but to understand it, let’s compare the words of the English language with the notes of the musical language.

For example, the words two, too, and to all SOUND the same but are spelled differently. You write them according to how you use them. I have two cats. I went to the store. There are “too many” flies in the house! In English, you would never say “I have ‘to’ cats.” It is the wrong version of the word. However, all three versions of “to” SOUND the same. You only know the difference when it is put into context. Think of other words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Other examples include: hers or there, son or sun, week or weak, rest or brake, he or hymn, etc.

In music, notes that sound the same can also have two names, just like words. The reason for this is that note patterns are important in helping to read musical scales and patterns, just as word patterns help to better read sentences.

Go online and find a picture of a piano keyboard that shows the note names for the black and white keys. Type “piano key pictures” into the search box and you’ll find several to choose from. You should notice that all black keys have TWO note names.

The normal notes of the black key:

• C sharp = D flat
• D sharp = E flat
• F sharp = G flat
• G sharp = A flat
• A sharp = B flat

The odd ducks (white keys with two note names):

• e sharp = fa
• F flat = E
• B sharp = C
• C flat = B

THAN!? Why can white keys also have enharmonic names? As a reminder (or in case you didn’t know), a sharp raises a note up a piano key (half a step) and a flat lowers a note down a piano key (also a half step). For example, look at an “E” (to the right of the group of two black keys). To move up a semitone (the sustained note), you must move to the next KEY. That key is called “F”. So “E-sharp” is the same note as “F”. To make the “F” upside down and flat, lower ONE key on the piano. This means that “F-flat” is the same as “E”.

The same is true for “B” and “C” because there is no black key between those notes. “E” through “F” and “B” through “C” are considered natural semitones because they lack a black key between them.

Remember earlier when I said that it’s important to spell correctly in music as it is with words? In music, we learn to recognize everything based on patterns. Scales are patterns of notes that fit into different key signatures (a lesson for another day). By reading music, a performer learns to recognize the proper scale based on the notes in the musical passage. After a while, a performer no longer has to look at each note because he begins to recognize the musical patterns within the music. To “spell” a scale correctly, it is important to use the correct version of the note. For example, a major scale “F sharp” and “G flat” are exactly the same scale. To the listener, they both sound the same. These scales are “enharmonic” with each other.

Why do you need to learn enharmonics? When reading a piece of music, it’s much easier to know which note to play if you can remember that when you see “A-sharp” in one measure and then see it again as “B-flat” in the next measure (always this way in chromatic scales ), are the same fingering on your instrument.

Ways to practice learning enharmonics:

• Make flash cards with the names of the individual notes on the front. (E flat, D sharp, F sharp, G flat, etc.). Each note has its own card. Write the name of the fingering or enharmonic note on the back. Review the flashcards every day and put any notes you don’t get right back into the stack. Go through the cards until you can remember them all quickly. Repeat until all the enharmonics are solidly cemented in the brain.
• Practice filling in blank piano keyboards as a timed test. See how fast you can tag all the notes.
• Practice chromatic scales (going up and down) on your instrument. Notes are crisp going up and flattering going down. Read music while practicing this scale.
• Practice the major scales “F-Sharp” and “D-flat”. First, write note names for each scale only. Then check them out on staff.

As with all things in life, if you want to improve, practice. But, good practice will require patience and perseverance. There is no easy button to learn music.

Happy practice!