You have met the sharp, which raises a note by a half step. Its partner is the flat, which lowers a note by a half step. With the flat comes a new key, F major, whose only black key is B flat. Learning it gives you a third key to play in, after C and G, and it shows you that every black key on the piano has more than one name.
What a flat does
A flat, written ♭, lowers a note by a half step. To play a flattened note, find the plain note and move to the very next key on the left. The black key just to the left of B is therefore called B flat.
To find it fast, look at the group of three black keys. B flat is the highest, last black key in that group. (The first key of the group is F sharp, from an earlier lesson, so the group of three starts with a sharp name and ends with a flat name.)
You may notice something interesting. B flat is also a half step up from A, so it could just as well be called A sharp. Every black key has a sharp name and a flat name. Which one the music uses depends on the key, and in F major it is always called B flat.
On the staff, a flat sign is written in front of the note, on the same line or in the same space. B flat above middle C sits on the middle line of the treble staff.
Play that example with your right hand: finger 2 on A, finger 3 on B flat, finger 4 on C. Let finger 3 reach slightly forward onto the black key.
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Why F major needs B flat
Build a major scale on F using the familiar pattern of whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half:
- F to G, G to A: whole steps, fine.
- A to B would be another whole step, but the pattern needs a half step here.
Lower B to B flat and the problem is solved: A to B flat is a half step, and B flat to C is a whole step. The rest of the scale, C D E F, already fits. So the F major scale is F G A B♭ C D E F.
The key signature of one flat
Just as G major shows its F sharp once at the start of every line, F major shows its B flat once in the key signature. In the treble clef the flat sits on the middle line, which is B. In the bass clef it sits on the second line up, which is also B. Either way, every B in the piece is played as B flat, in every octave.
A quick rule for telling the two new keys apart: one sharp is G major, one flat is F major.
Fingering the F major scale
The right hand uses a different fingering from C and G major, because the thumb should not land on the black key.
- Thumb on F. Play F, G, A, B flat with 1, 2, 3, 4.
- Pass the thumb under to C.
- Play D, E, F with 2, 3, 4. The top F is finger 4, not 5.
- Coming down: 4, 3, 2, 1 on F, E, D, C, then finger 4 crosses over onto B flat, and 3, 2, 1 finish on A, G, F.
The left hand often meets B flat too. A comfortable position has finger 1 on middle C and finger 5 on the F below, with finger 2 on B flat. Try walking C, B flat, A, G, F down and back up with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
How to practise
- Find every B flat. Play each B flat on the keyboard from bottom to top, using the groups of three black keys.
- Name and play. Play A, B flat, A, B flat, C with the right hand, saying the note names aloud.
- Scale, hands separately. Right hand with the 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 fingering, slowly. Then the left-hand five-note walk from C down to F.
- Read the key signature. Before every piece, say "one flat, B flat" out loud.
- A short tune. Play a few bars in F that use B flat, such as the Academy's Evening Song in F, shown below.
Common mistakes
- Using finger 5 at the top of the scale. In F major the right hand reaches the top F with finger 4.
- Thumb on B flat. The thumb is short; putting it on a black key twists the hand. The fingering above keeps it on white keys.
- Forgetting the flat in the left hand. The bass staff has its own flat on its second line.
- Mixing up the key signatures. Sharp on the top line means G major; flat on the middle line means F major.
Try it in Pianuvo
The Academy lesson has you reach for B flat, play the F major scale and then Evening Song in F over an accompaniment, with every exercise scored as it listens to you play. Use the on-screen keyboard, a MIDI keyboard, or a real piano through your microphone. Start in Unit 7: F major, flats and changing dynamics.