Flats
A Flat (b) does the opposite of a sharp. Placed immediately before a note, it lowers the pitch of that note by one semitone.
As with sharps, flats are canceled by a bar line or by a natural sign.
The use of sharps and flats means that the same note can have two different names. For example, F is the same note as Gb and G# is also Ab. These are referred to as enharmonic notes. The following diagram outlines all of the notes in the first position on the guitar (including both names for the enharmonic notes). The first position consists of the open string notes and the notes on the first four frets.
Here is an exercise to improve your knowledge of flats. Once again, write out the names of the notes on a piece of paper if necessary; then find them on the guitar.
The following example demonstrates two octaves of the E chromatic scale. Notice that sharps are used when the scale ascends and flats are used as it descends. This is common practice when writing chromatic passages in music. As with any example containing new notes, it is important to name the notes out loud as you play through this scale.
Now play this example which features sharps, flats and naturals.
