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Half steps and whole steps
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Half steps and whole steps
The smallest move on a piano is to the very next key, black or white: a half step. Two of those make a whole step. A sharp raises a note by a half step and a flat lowers it, which is why the black keys have two names each — the same key, reached from either side.
The What the marks mean names the marks themselves, and the Little tools are there when you want to try something out.