B sharp...C flat..?

Ok, prepare yourselves for this may be a very dumb question. I was watching
How to Play Piano: Lesson #2

and got a bit confused. Why is there no piano key for b sharp/c flat or e sharp/f flat?

Hi

Well, you see - B# Is C... So there is no need to call it B#
And also E# Is F!

So if you want to call the F-Key/Scale for: E#-Key/Scale thats really up to you, but it isnt used as far as I have seen. Cause its really just making easy things hard and isnt necessary at all.

In the same way like Cb Is B and Fb Is E.

OK, cool! Thanks! So I understand that the enharmonic of B# is C, the enharmonic of Cb is B, the enharmonic of E# is F, and the enharmonic of Fb is E. It answers part of my question, but I was hoping for a more in depth answer.

Hmmm, I'm trying to figure out how to better word my question.

Here's my line of thinking; the enharmonic of A# is Bb, the enharmonic of C# is Db, the enharmonic of D# is Eb, etc. There is a pattern here. WHY is the pattern different for B, C, E, and F? Why is there no enharmonic B#/Cb key and no enharmonic E#/Fb key?

I understand the black keys are layed out the way they are to serve as a reference for the player, but isn't that at the expense of two notes? IF there are seven natural notes, why aren't there seven #/b notes? Doesn't this mean that technically, two keys are missing between every row of A through G? And if that is true aren't all pianos technically unable to play two notes between A and G? Is this the case for ALL instruments?

Thanks for being patient with me. This must be as arbritrary as a child asking why the sky is blue, but since I really don't know it's really bothering me, lol.

I dont have a more indeapth answer hehe
Sorry, but I have never considered this problem since I dont feel the need to have a B# - Key.. . Since thats a C.

Its like all the other keys, lets say the G#. What you call it is up to you.

Same as the C I guess, you Can call it B# if you want to, i think?! But its just not common as far as I know.

Maybe its got something to do with the circle of 5th... And I dont really know to much about that theory other than that its a great system, and all the scales fit perfect together in that system.

But I just think that since the lineup is like it is, that there isnt any need to call the white C any other thing than C. But I do think that you can call it B# if you absolutely want to - It dosnt change the key or the lineup on how the key is, by calling it B#

Hmmm...ok. Yeah, it's not so much about what to call the key as it is that my logic tells me there is something missing here. Or I could just be crazy, hehe!

I'm going to do some research on the circle of 5th then. Thanks for your help though!

Maybe I should ask Andrew about this?

It's the way the musical system was made. In eastern countries they have instruments who has alot of "keys" within an octave. But it's not nessecary to have it to make music.

They decided in the old days that an instrument should have 12 pitches within an octave, I dont know the story behind, but probably math and to make it easy. This was in the western music world, as you can see, the eastern did it different. The harmonic minor scale can mimic a eastern scale, but it's missing a few pitches between each note ^_^

Remember even if there are 5 black and 7 white, they are 12 together. They could've designed it as 6 white and 6 black, as you know, a guitar dont have black and white keys. It's probably made that way to make it easy to play.

It's not about black and white colors, or note names, it's about pitches.

EDIT: There is no B#, Cb, E# or Fb. If you tell you that it is, you're only making stuff harder than it is, adding 4 names extra. In "theory" they could be, but they are not.

VictorCS wrote:It's the way the musical system was made. In eastern countries they have instruments who has alot of "keys" within an octave. But it's not nessecary to have it to make music.

They decided in the old days that an instrument should have 12 pitches within an octave, I dont know the story behind, but probably math and to make it easy. This was in the western music world, as you can see, the eastern did it different. The harmonic minor scale can mimic a eastern scale, but it's missing a few pitches between each note ^_^

Remember even if there are 5 black and 7 white, they are 12 together. They could've designed it as 6 white and 6 black, as you know, a guitar dont have black and white keys. It's probably made that way to make it easy to play.

It's not about black and white colors, or note names, it's about pitches.

EDIT: There is no B#, Cb, E# or Fb. If you tell you that it is, you're only making stuff harder than it is, adding 4 names extra. In "theory" they could be, but they are not.

Thank you Victor!! You have explained it very well, and I completely understand it now! Hmmm, it would make a fun project to study the differences between Eastern and Western scales. Hehe, one foot in front of the other though. First I need to learn how to play the piano!

Well! looks like victor beat me to it. He explained pretty much what I was going to say ^_^ Thanks for being helpful victor!