What does a flat sign (♭) do to a note?
raises the note by one half step
raises the note by one half step
lowers the note by one half step
lowers the note by one half step
cancels the previous accidental
cancels the previous accidental
lowers the note by one whole step
lowers the note by one whole step
A flat sign (♭) lowers the note by one half step.
A flat sign (♭) lowers the note by one half step.
A flat sign (♭) lowers the pitch of a note by one half step. To understand how it works, you need to know the concept of half steps and whole steps in music theory.
In Western music, the distance between two adjacent keys on a piano, or two consecutive frets on a guitar, is known as a half step. Moving from one note to the very next note, either up or down, is a half step. For example, going from C to C# is a half step, as is going from D to D♭.
When a note is marked with a flat sign (♭), it means to play or sing the pitch one half step lower than its natural state. So if a note is originally written as C, adding a flat sign makes it C♭, which is the same pitch as B. Similarly, if a note is originally written as F♯, adding a flat sign makes it F, which is one half step lower.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
A flat sign (♭) lowers the note by one half step.