Before we discuss the names of the black keys, however, we must first learn about half- and whole-steps. There are also black keys on the piano keyboard, which are grouped into alternating sets of two or three. In the last chapter, The Keyboard and the Grand Staff, we discussed the letter names of the white keys on the piano keyboard. Notes have enharmonic equivalence when they are spelled differently but sound the same.Be sure to write accidentals to the left of a note, directly across the line or space on which a note appears.
A sharp raises a note by a half-step while a flat lowers a note by a half-step. A whole-step above a key on the piano is two keys to its right, while a whole-step below a key on the piano is two keys to its left.