Okuzeka
Music vocabulary · Notation and Reading Music

Sharp

Meaning in music, with examples

/ʃɑːrp/nounCore term

In music, sharp means: The symbol ♯ that raises a note by a semitone, or a note raised in this way. As an adjective, it also describes a note sung or played slightly too high.

In Turkish: diyez

How it is used

Said after the letter: 'F sharp', 'C sharp minor'. Key signatures are described by their sharps: 'G major has one sharp'. In rehearsal, 'You're a bit sharp' means your pitch is slightly too high.

Example sentences

  1. D major has two sharps: F sharp and C sharp.

  2. The trumpet was slightly sharp on the high notes, so he pulled out the tuning slide.

Common collocations

  • F sharp
  • one sharp
  • slightly sharp
  • sing sharp
  • sharp sign
  • flatThe symbol ♭ that lowers a note by a semitone, or a note lowered in this way. As an adjective, it also describes a note sung or played slightly too low.
  • key signatureThe group of sharps or flats written at the start of every staff, just after the clef, that shows the key of the piece and which notes are always raised or lowered.
  • noteA single musical sound with a particular pitch and length, or the written symbol that shows it. In English, notes are named with the letters A to G.
  • out of tuneNot at the correct pitch, either because an instrument needs tuning or because a singer or player is slightly too high or too low.
  • pitchHow high or low a sound is. Pitch depends on the frequency of the sound wave: the faster the vibration, the higher the pitch.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Notation and Reading Music

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: