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Always with Me from Spirited Away

I watched a Synthesia video of this music paper, and on the Synthesia is played that note as a A sharp, but I see no sign of playing an A sharp.

Luke Sawczak
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Hoitsau Man
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    Incidentally, that's a weak-looking notation. I would prefer by far an 8va or 15va to 5 lines above the staff – and then it would be so much clearer to you that the flat is on the B. – Luke Sawczak Sep 07 '19 at 04:09
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    What is there about it that makes you believe it's A#? – Tim Sep 07 '19 at 15:49
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    @Tim Synthesia might have incorrectly identified the note as "A#" specifically, but I can't check because the "English Note Names: C, C#, D" option for labels is not a free feature. But its name hints at that possibility, and afaik MIDI files do not contain enharmonic information, at least not necessarily. – Leif Willerts Sep 07 '19 at 21:41
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    @LeifWillerts - just another example of really poor information from the 'net. It may well be the case, but how can such an organisation show a definite Bb, and then call it A#? English note names? Bb is Bb in anybody's language (apart from some guitarists..!) – Tim Sep 08 '19 at 10:19
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    @Tim In Norway we just call it a B. The unflattened note would be called H. Don't ask me why. Also, we add "-iss" after note names to signify sharps and "-ss" or "-ess" to signify flats (other than B) (yes, that means we have a note we call Ass). So note names aren't as universal as you claim. But a software as internationally used as synthesia really ought to have English names available by default. – Arthur Sep 08 '19 at 19:29
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    @Arthur - thanks for reminding me. Germany does the same. However, the vast majority of the Western world would name the dot on the line as Bb. And I don't believe anyone who is cognisant of music would call it A#. It's certainly a B by any other name! – Tim Sep 08 '19 at 20:01
  • @Arthur - That's dreadful. The B/H thing, not the Ass thing. Having 7 note names with some # and b works well for Western music, where all the standard modes have 7 notes, one each from A to G. Having 12 note names would also be a reasonable system. But 8, with just B and H being separated like that, is so confusing! Which keys use H and which ones use B? Yes, I'm aware that this dates back at least as far as Bach, but I've never understood how this can be a good idea in equal temperament. – Adam Chalcraft Sep 08 '19 at 22:09
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    @AdamChalcraft B and H are not enharmonic in Norwegian. B = Hb (which is what English would call Bb). We just never say Hb (or "Hess", as it would be). And it's not a good idea, but having grown up with it, I use it quite naturally. – Arthur Sep 08 '19 at 22:12

4 Answers4

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It's not an A♯, it's a B♭. The key signature tells you that all B's you come across are flat hence this B is flat unless otherwise stated.

See the related question: Is a high A in the key of D flat still flat?

Dom
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The note in the music is a B note.Of some sort, not an A of any sort! Count up, and that line will be a B. As Dom says, because of the key signature of one flat, which happens to be the note B, then that note is played as B♭.

Whilst A♯ and B♭ are the same black key on the piano, they're not always the same note on other instruments - but that's for another day! And in any case, when there's a B♭ in the key signature, it's extremely rare that the same sounding note will be named (or written) as A♯.

Tim
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    @LaurencePayne I don't understand your comment: Neither Fis major nor E major have a B flat in their key signature. – Arsak Sep 06 '19 at 20:17
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    @LaurencePayne Arsak is saying something like if, in that F# major piece for your example, there came a Bb. That would be extremely rare. I hope that clears things up – MCMastery Sep 07 '19 at 03:08
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    @LaurencePayne - I missed your point. F#major, whether key or chord, hardly ever features in pieces that are in key Bb. Or pieces in F#maj don't have Bb notes. Please read the answer again. And this isn't guitar music anyway. – Tim Sep 07 '19 at 06:02
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As others have explained, that note is B♭, not A♯. The B♭ in the key signature applies to all B notes - regardless of position on the stave.

It may help to think of the scales with a "each letter must appear only once" rule. So, for the key of F only one of the following is correct:

    a) F, G, A, A♯, C, D, E, F
    b) F, G, A, B♭, C, D, E, F

It is, of course, b) as each letter appears only once.

If we apply this rule to a more awkward key such as F♯ we get:

    F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯

Notice here that we have to write E♯ to comply with the "each letter must appear only once" rule even though it would be simpler to write 'F'.

Simon Biber
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Transistor
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-1

This is a B flat. Technically, every flat is the sharp of is preceding note if it is not a natural half tone gap, at least within the same temperament. Thus, B flat is the same as A sharp.

Also, no instrument I am aware of has distinct keys or strings for A sharp and B flat.

rexkogitans
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