double flat
- noun
- Specialized
:
doble bemol
- A note with a double flat sounds a whole tone lower than the natural note.
Examples
-
The composer used a double flat to indicate the lowered pitch in the piano score.
-
Make sure not to confuse a double flat with a regular flat when reading the sheet music.
-
The score had a double flat before the note.
-
A double flat lowers the pitch significantly.
-
A note with a double flat sounds a whole tone lower than the natural note.
-
Make sure not to confuse a double flat with a regular flat when reading the sheet music.
-
The composer used a double flat to indicate the lowered pitch in the piano score.
Synonyms
1
8.0
A music sign that raises or lowers a note's pitch
How Low
- Specialized
- Specialized
45
6.9
- Specialized
28
5.8
- Specialized
31
6.8
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'double' = twice/twofold and 'flat' = the ♭ symbol/lowering by one semitone, so 'double flat' straightforwardly indicates two flats or lowering by two semitones. This is a standard, cross-linguistic music-theory compound (e.g., Spanish 'doble bemol'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Double flat is written as two flat signs before a note, with double showing the idea of doing it twice. So the symbol tells the musician the note is 'lowered by two half steps' and will sound lower than the normal note.