Sharps
A sharp (#) is a sign, placed immediately before a note, which raises the pitch of that note by one semitone (one fret). When you see a note with a sharp sign in front of it, you should first think of where the normal note is located (in music this is called the natural note), and then sharpen it by placing your next finger on the next fret along. Here are some examples:
The use of the sharp sign introduces five new notes, occurring in between the seven natural notes which you already know. The following exercise outlines all twelve notes which occur within one octave of music. Play through it very slowly, and be sure to use correct fingering for the sharpened notes.
You will notice that there is no sharp between B and C, or between E and F.
The exercise you have just played is called a chromatic scale. It is referred to as the A chromatic scale because the starting and finishing notes are A (this is called the Key note or tonic).
The chromatic scale consists entirely of semitones i.e., it moves up (or down) one fret at a time.
Here is the G chromatic scale:
When a note is sharpened it remains sharp until either a barline or a natural sign (@) cancels it. Check the following notes:
Watch your timing with the ties in this song.
Troubleshooting
- Be sure to use the correct fingering for all notes:
- 1st fret................1st finger
- 2nd fret................2nd finger
- 3rd fret................3rd finger
- 4th fret................4th finger
- Keep your left hand fingers as close to the strings as possible. This will greatly improve your accuracy and speed.
- Watch the music and read the notes. Occasionally you should just name the notes in a song, without actually playing through it.
