10 More Notes, Accidentals & the Eighth-Note Triplet
10 More Notes, Accidentals & the Eighth-Note Triplet
INTRODUCTION
In this unit you will learn more notes on the first string, accidentals and the eighth-note triplet.
NOTATIONS
Accidentals
Accidentals are symbols that pair with a notes to create new notes. Three common accidentals are: the sharp (♯), the flat (♭) and the natural (♮).
| Name | Symbol | Effect |
| Sharp | ♯ | The sharp raises pitch up one fret. |
| Flat | ♭ | The flat lowers pitch down one fret. |
| Natural | ♮ | The natural cancels the effect of a sharp or flat. |
Sharp
In this example, ‘F’ is played as the first fret/first string. ‘F♯’ is played as the second fret/first string. Since they produce different pitches, they are considered different notes.
Flat
In this example, ‘G’ is played as the third fret/first string. ‘G♭’ is played as the second fret/first string.
Natural
In this example, ‘F’ is played as the first fret/ first string; ‘F♯’ is played as the second fret/first string; ‘F♮’ is played as the first fret/first string again. The natural symbol cancelled the sharp of the previous note.
Notice how the placement of the accidental in speech and writing is different from the placement of the accidental in music notation. For example, the sharp symbol follows the note when we say or write ‘F♯,’ whereas the sharp symbol precedes the note in music notation.
Rules for Accidentals
Accidentals apply to successive notes on the same staff position for the remainder of the measure in which they occur, unless explicitly changed by another accidental. The effect of the accidental ends once a barline is passed (there is one exception to this rule, which will be discussed below, under the heading The Tie & Accidentals).
In the example above, the ‘F’ on beat one is played as the first fret, the ‘F♯’ on beat two is played as the second fret and the ‘F♯’ on beat three is played as the second fret as well. The note on beat three is indeed an ‘F♯’ even though the sharp was not added to it in the score.
In the example above, the ‘F’ on beat one is played as the first fret/first string, the ‘F♯’ on beat two is played as the second fret/first string and the ‘F’ on beat three is played as the third fret/fourth string. The note on beat three is an ‘F’ (not and ‘F♯’) because the ‘F’ on beat two is a different staff position than the ‘F’ on beat three.
Enharmonic Equivalents
Did you notice in the first two examples that ‘F♯’ and ‘G♭’ are both played as the second fret/first string? ‘F♯’ and ‘G♭’ create the same pitch. For that reason, we call them enharmonic equivalents. Enharmonics (for short) are notes that create the same pitch, despite being notated differently. If you are curious to know more about enharmonics, you may enjoy taking a music theory course.
Notes
The Notes ‘F♯’ and ‘G♭’
F♯ and G♭are enharmonics. To play ‘F♯’ and ‘G♭’, fret the second fret on the first string.
The Notes ‘G#’ and ‘Ab’
‘G♯’ and ‘A♭’ are enharmonics. To play ‘G♯’ and ‘A♭’, fret the fourth fret on the first string.
The