Wiki Page, Instrumental Music - II: Double Sharps and Flats

Wiki Page
2022-06-28T06:57:07-06:00

Double Sharp

*In addition to sharps there exists a greater beast that does the job of two sharps at the same time; it's called a double sharp. The double sharp raises a note one whole step and it looks like a mix between an 'x' and a star. Normal sharps are used in key signatures and as accidentals, but double sharps are mainly used as accidentals only.

*We may be getting a little ahead of ourselves here, but a common use of a double sharp is in melodic minor melodies. In minor keys where the 7th note is naturally sharp, another sharp is needed to raise the note a half step higher in order to achieve the leading tone or construct a major V chord. In this case we replace the normal sharp with a double sharp.

*Here's an example of what a double sharp looks like and how to use it to raise the 7th in the key of G minor:

Double Flat

*The double flat, as it's name implies, is a flat x2. It's essentially a mirror image of a double sharp; instead of raising a note by a whole step it lowers it by a whole step. A double flat is written simply as two flats side by side.

*Here's an example of a double flat by way of an interesting sounding chord progression in D major; I – IV – iv – I. When it comes to lowering the 3rd in the iv chord a double flat needs to be used since the note is already flat according to the key signature.