Lesson 02 · Raised notes

Sharp Key Note Names Trainer

Learn what a sharp (♯) is — raising a note by one semitone — and the names of all 7 sharp keys: A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯.

What does "sharp" mean?

A sharp (♯) raises a note's pitch by one semitone — the smallest step used in Western music, equal to the distance from any piano key to the very next key up, black or white. Written after a letter name, "C♯" means "the note C, raised one semitone." On a keyboard that usually lands you on a black key, since most white keys have a black key sitting right above them.

Every one of the 7 natural letters — A, B, C, D, E, F, G — can be sharpened, giving the 7 sharp keys this app teaches: A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯.

Two of the natural letter pairs — B/C and E/F — sit only a semitone apart already, with no black key between them. So sharpening B or E doesn't reach a black key at all: it lands squarely on the very next white key. That's why B♯ sounds identical to C, and E♯ sounds identical to F. Two different names, the exact same piano key — musicians call this an enharmonic equivalent.

Tap a sharp key to hear it and see where it lives:

C#

All 7 sharp keys at a glance

Sharp keyBuilt fromPiano key colorSame sound as

Tip: read down the "Sharp key" column in order (C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♯, B♯) and you're actually playing the C♯ major scale — every natural letter, each raised a semitone.

Ascending
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Sharp keys — Ascending

LetterOctaveMIDI #Same asTonic
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Which sharp key is highlighted?

Which sharp key is it?