1. ISOLATION: D Minor Blues Scale
The A minor blues scale introduces us to a black note: E♭.
It’s the perfect moment to explore how black notes get their names and how they’re written in sheet music.
The Symbols (Accidentals)
Flat (♭): Looks like a lowercase b. You’ll often see people type a “b” instead.
Sharp (♯): Looks like a hashtag (#).
What They Do
To sharp (♯) a note is to raise it by a half step. Example: C♯ is higher than C.
To flat (♭) a note is to lower it by a half step. Example: B♭ is lower than B.
Quick rule to remember:
♯ Sharps go up ↑
♭ Flats go down ↓
What Is a Natural?
The natural sign ♮ cancels a sharp or flat, bringing the note back to its “normal” form.
Practice Time
Exercise 1: Chromatic Scale
We’re going to play every key in order, white and black, no skips.
This is called a chromatic scale. (It’s just a fancy way of saying “all the notes, one by one.”)
The fingerings under the notes are the official ones for piano. Learn them now and you’ll thank yourself later.
Exercise 2: Spot the Natural
Here, you’ll practice recognizing and playing the natural sign.
Exercise 3: The Ongoing Flat
Pay close attention. First note: E♭.
Second note: written as “E,” but it’s still flat. Why? Because accidentals last until they are canceled.
Third note: E♮.
The natural sign cancels the flat, so from here it’s just E again.
Exercise 4: The Bar Line Reset
All the notes in the first bar are E♭ because of the first accidental. But after the bar line, that flat is gone. If you want E♭ again, you must write the flat again.
Exercise 5: The Key Signature Twist
This exercise has a key signature with two flats (B♭ and E♭).
That means:
Every E is automatically an E♭, even if there’s no flat sign next to it.
But if you don’t want E♭ – and just want a regular E – you must add a natural.
And yes, after the bar line, you’ll need to add the natural again if you want to keep playing E naturals.
Notice the octave: once you mark one E with a natural, all the E’s – higher and lower – follow it.
When Are You Done With This Lesson?
If you can understand and play these five exercises from beginning to end without mistakes, you’re done.
Move on to the next lesson.