The Chromatic Scale
Using sharps you can create five new notes, which occur between the seven natural notes you already know. The following example demonstrates all twelve notes which occur within one octave of music. It is an example of a Chromatic Scale.
A scale is a sequence of notes which can be used to write music. Chromatic scales consist entirely of semitones (i.e. they move up or down one semitone at a time) and the start and finish notes are always the same (this is called the keynote or tonic), although they are an octave apart. The chromatic scale uses all twelve notes used in western music and can be built on any note. In example 20 there are no sharps between B and C, or E and F. These are the ones that are a semitone apart so there is no room for an extra note between them. Try playing this scale on your instrument, naming each note as you go.
The chromatic scale can be built on any note. Here is the D chromatic scale:
The Natural Sign
This is a natural sign.
A natural sign cancels the effect of a sharp or flat for the rest of that bar, or until another sharp or flat sign occurs within that bar.
A sharpened note stays sharp until either a bar line or a natural sign (@) cancels it:
Now play this exercise which makes use of both sharp and natural signs. Go slowly at first and name each note as you play it. If you have trouble, write the names above or below the notes.
To improve your knowledge of sharps and natural signs, find each of the following notes on your instrument. Write the name of each note above or below the note.
