I’m a complete novice to music and am learning piano, I just bought some stickers with the notes and letters for my keys but the black keys have 2 notes and letters, do they make a different sound when you hit them higher up vs lower on the key?
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There’s a term for it: enharmonics. From my own basic grasp of theory: It has to do with key signatures. Key signatures tell you which flats and sharps to play in a given piece. (For our basic purposes, these are the black keys on your piano. They are a half step in tone above or below what we call a natural, which is a note like C or D.)
For instance, the key of B flat major tells you to play two flats whenever you see a B or E in the song: B flat and E flat. The key of E major, however, has four sharps. One of them is D sharp, which is the enharmonic equivalent to E flat. By calling it D sharp instead, it fits in with the other sharp notes. It’s neater and easier to read.
Check out the circle of fifths. This should help you visualize it better. https://medium.com/@musicintervaltheory/what-is-the-circle-of-fifths-in-music-theory-85e1b29b0f6a
I hope that helps. Theory experts, feel free to correct me of course.
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