Originally, the keyboard had only the white keys (the naturals). Later Bb (B flat) got added to the mix. These notes made up the medieval gamut.
- Then, singers started to sing the equivalent of the remaining sharps and flats from the modern keyboard.
- However, the medieval theorists felt that these notes did not exist, so they labeled them musica ficta. This meant “fictional music.”
- The medieval theorists did not have special signs for the musica ficta notes, because of how they viewed them.
- Moreover, they called the white keys on the keyboard the naturals and the black keys accidentals.
- They did this because they thought the black keys were accidents.
After a few hundred years, signs for the accidentals began to appear.
- The sharp sign tells a pianist to play the next key to the right.
- Therefore, C# (C sharp) sits to the right of the C key on the piano. Likewise, Bb sits to the left of the B key.
- Despite having similar names, the accidentals remain distinct notes from the naturals.
- The accidentals worked as a patchwork fix for the notation that existed in the medieval period.
- Specifically, they expanded the number of pitches that composers could notate.
Today, we live with the aftermath of the decision to use sharps and flats rather than start over from scratch. In other words, the accidentals make note reading much harder than creating distinct labels (with their own places on the staff) would have.
In any case, students respond well to color coding. I suggest teaching accidentals in this order:
- Describe how the accidentals work.
- Explain where the accidentals came from to give students the big picture.
- Color code the key signature.
- Circle the accidentals to help the students play the music.