Sharps or flats?

ShiroKuro · 2024-09-20T11:13:17+00:00

I have always preferred, in terms of finding it easier to read, sharps than flats. I don’t know why. At two or three sharps or flats, I don’t really notice t...

Bellyman

I don't really like reading anything. If I had to pick, I think I'd lean towards rather reading flats, especially as the number of them increased. F & G, pretty similar, about as comfortable as anything. Bb & D, I like 'em both, about the same. Eb & A, definitely prefer Eb, not crazy about how A falls under the hands. Ab and E, much prefer Ab, do not like playing in E, will if I have to but would rather be in either Eb or F. Db and B, Db all day long. B is pretty, but I don't do enough in that key to feel comfortable playing it let alone reading it. And Gb & F#... I would prefer reading neither of them. LOL!! In all honesty, though, I play in Gb / F# way more than I play in either E, A, or B... by ear. Pretty key and lots of black key stuff that's easy to play. 🙂

keff

I used to like sharps best but nowadays have no preference. One of my piano teachers advised that one should always make an effort just to remember the last flat or sharp in the key signature and the others would fall into place.

keystring

I'm stronger in sharps and have been working to turn that around. The first time I had lessons it was violin, and it's an instrument that favours sharps. I understand that wind instruments favour flats.

Sophia

I started out preferring sharps, because I had played a bit of classical guitar in the past. And the piano method book started with sharps too before it included flats. Now I don't really mind - although of course at this stage they have only presented pieces with up to three of each - and deep down inside I still prefer none ^_^

Bellyman

Sophia - and deep down inside I still prefer none

C is a nice key. 🙂

One thing about jazz, though, keys are all over the place. Quite a few of the songs will modulate between multiple keys, sometimes rather quickly. "Pick Yourself Up" starts out in F, then into G, then into Ab... before you even get to the B section and the B section will have a brief stint in Am before heading back to F. There are times when I feel bad for people trying to transcribe some of the jazz tunes out there. The actual playing is way less complicated than the printed out music.

Adagiette

Definitely flats for me. Probably influenced by my days as a woodwind player. But in the case of doubles, I would prefer double sharps to double flats. Go figure. 🤷‍♀️

BartK

Funny coincidence just yesterday I was sight reading a Schubert dance in A-flat minor of all keys (7 flats) and it had all the elements that trip me up the most: C-flat and F-flat, double flats, and big chords with accidentals.

Normally, I would say that flat is slightly easier to read because in typical tonal music raised scale degrees are more common than lowered ones (because of the harmonic minor leading tone) and when you raise a sharp scale degree you end up with double sharps, whereas raising a flat scale degree ends up with a natural. But of course just as I wanted to write this I stumbled upon this dance that had a bunch double flats. 😄

rogerch

ShiroKuro And for some reason, when there are five in the key signature, I often have a hard time playing Gb correctly when sightreading a new piece.

Miracles as transcribed by @Rubens has five flats, and when I read through it the first time I had exactly the same problem! I mostly got it right but played several Gs instead of Gbs.

I don't have preferences for reading music. For improvising, I'm fickle! I improvise in all the keys, but I go through phases of having a favorite key. I went through a long D phase, then Bb, then A. I had a long Ab phase, and currently I'm into G and F. While I haven't gone through an F# phase I like the pattern that scale makes. Since F# is also Gb it seems I like the sharp and flat scales equally!

ShiroKuro

@rogerch yep, I definitely don’t like reading that Gb in Miracles. OTOH September Song (also by Alexis Ffrench) has five sharps, and I never found that hard to sightread.

I should add that my comments are completely related to reading music, not to playing or having your fingers on the black keys.

On the topic of the key of C, it is easier to read, but it can sometimes be harder to play IMO. I find that a few black keys actually is easier to read and play, esp. while keeping my eyes on the score, bc playing a black key here and there can be quite orienting.

Sgisela

I just started working on one of Lecuona’s Danzas Afrocubanas, and it’s in G flat major. The most famous piece in the set, La Comparsa, has an F Sharp major section in the second half (first half is f sharp minor). I hadn’t made the g flat major/f sharp major connection until my dad was listening to me practice and asked if the two were in the same key… I started to say no, and then revised my answer.
I’ve never really thought about flats/sharps being easier or harder to digest, but when I’m starting a piece, I realize I need to spend some time thinking about the key signature and being mindful of it. I think this has become more and more natural/internalized over time, though.

Josephine

I have this habit (for a few years now) of playing a scale in the key of the piece before I start practicing it. I look at the flats or sharps and focus on what it would have been if it was written in C and what it is now. So, for A I now play A flat for instance. And then I start practicing the piece. When I started doing that I had to play the scale up and down the keyboard for a while, and for a the first 2 or 3 days before each practice session, but now it goes a lot faster. I think I'm just playing one octave up and down one or two times the first time I practice the piece, this one is flat, that one is flat and that one. And then I know it. This way it doesn't matter if it's flat or sharp, or how many flats and sharps. You already know, so you don't have to think about it anymore while reading the piece. I think, (or hope 😆 ) since it goes much faster now, that one day I don't have to do this anymore at all because I have practiced every key a multiple times. But nobody told me that this is a good idea, so maybe it's not.

ShiroKuro

Josephine I have this habit (for a few years now) of playing a scale in the key of the piece before I start practicing it.

This is very, very helpful! I had this recommended to me by one of my early teachers, so I used to do it all the time. But got out of the habit years ago... Maybe I should start doing it again, especially for pieces with four or more flats, if nothing else, it would be good to reduce my misreading/misplaying of Gb!

BTW another benefit of playing scales before in that key before practicing the piece is that it helps you 1) be better at choosing good fingerings, and 2) I found that it reduced my need to write in lots of fingerings. Which isn't to say there's something wrong with writing in fingerings, I think it's a good thing actually. It's just that it can be time consuming, so for me, anything that reduces the amount of time I spend on choosing and writing in fingerings is always good.

MRC

I'm equally happy with either. I must admit, though, that a piece written with lots of sharps feels different from the same piece written with flats. Take "C" by Poulenc. He wrote it in Ab minor. He could have written it in G# minor: you'd be playing the same notes on the piano. But somehow all those flats and double flats seem right for the melancholy, nostalgic mood of the poem. In G# minor it would have a load of double sharps, which to me give a completely different feeling.

Sgisela

I know this is a little bit different from the question that was posed, but I find that pieces that are played largely on black keys feel very nice, and there is a way in which my hand feels a little larger over the black keys than over the white keys—some large intervals/chords are easier for me over black keys.

ShiroKuro

Sgisela my hand feels a little larger over the black keys

Yep, I notice the same thing!

Sophia

True story: one of the pieces that got me interested in learning the piano was Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills. It was original written in C sharp major... which is probably the worst key I could imagine ^_^ When he was asked why, he said that he taught himself to play by playing along with vinyl records, but it so happens that it turned a little too fast which means he learned to play most things half a key higher than they should be played. By then he was so used to playing all those black keys that it became second nature to him.

I still plan to learn that piece someday, but thankfully most sheet music has transposed it to C these days 😃

rogerch

Sophia I love Music Box Dancer! I recently spent some time trying to learn it by ear. I learned it in Db. Same notes, easier (for me) to manage. 🙂

Rob

Sophia Thank you for reminding me of this. i haven't heard it in years.

And sorry, but I couldn't resist........
I wrote a piece back in 2006 after coming across my late mother's musical box.
It inspired thoughts of a ballerina trapped forever, only to come alive at midnight to dance freely once more, before returning to the box before daylight.
(link below)

Midnight Ballerina

twocats

rogerch I love Music Box Dancer!

I just looked it up and thought I had never heard it before, but then realized I used to have a music box (a beautiful porcelain ballerina) that played this tune!

Regarding sharps and flats, I find it funny that people have preferences! I am equally likely with both to start reading a piece and realize a few bars in that I didn't look at the key signature properly 🤣

twocats

twocats Regarding sharps and flats, I find it funny that people have preferences!

Ok, now this is funny. I thought I didn't have a preference but I am working on a piece that changes key signatures a lot and I think I actually prefer flats!!

Sophia

Rob That's an adorable piece! Love the accompaniment too, did you add that yourself? I could actually visibly see the ballerina in my mind, you painted that vivid a picture 😃