A stem with a rounded lobe at its foot, lowering a note by a semitone.
Also known as: b with a pointed bottom
Sometimes confused with: Letter b music
♭ lowers a note by a semitone. It descends from a rounded letter b used in medieval notation to distinguish the soft form of the note B, which is why it still looks like one.
Descends from the rounded b of medieval notation, written to distinguish the soft form of the note B from the hard form — which became the natural sign.
Contexts: Music
A tall vertical stem with a rounded lobe attached at its lower right, the lobe closing to a point where it meets the stem rather than curving fully round.
One lowers a pitch, the other raises it.
The accidental set.