Each morning, whenever I’m reading my various news feeds, there are a few subreddits I review, too. This morning, in r/musictheory, I read this question:
i’m a beginner beginner and i just cant seem to wrap my head around the concept. Like a C double sharp is D so why not just put D instead of C double sharp.
Also, from what i know, Nature cancels out the sharp or flat, and so why not just write the regular note?
As someone who’s played instruments in band in junior high and high school, and someone who still plays guitar and dabbles with other instruments, I was interested in the answers (especially because I don’t read music nearly as much as I once did).
Of all the answers provided, this was my favorite. Here’s an excerpt (emphasis mine):
Why is to, two, and too all to?
Just because they sound the same doesn’t mean they’re spelled the same, and more importantly, it doesn’t mean they have the same meaning.
…
E# is NOT F. Fb is NOT E. They may be produced by the same physical key on a piano, but they are NOT the same note.
And the reason why is, they have different meanings so they must remain separate things. That’s the way the system evolved. That’s the way it is.
The sound has a name that represents itself in the key it exists. In other words, the sound has name for the world in which it exists and, in music, there are multiple worlds.
At least that’s how I conceptualize it.