On the episode where Homer makes the Barber Shop Quartet when they are performing in the church the sign outside it says that the B Sharps are playing but, the name the B Sharps is not created by the group untill later in the episode.
Actually, you do occasionally see a B sharp in music... while true that it is simply a natural C. I mean, technically, all the black keys have two names as well... for example, a B flat is also an A sharp, etc. While I've only seen a handful of B sharps in the 15 years or so I've played the piano, they do occur. I remember thinking it was a tad silly. There aren't many hard and fast rules in music. Whether you denote it as a B sharp or a C natural is left up to the composer. Some of them just like to be difficult, I suppose.
I commend anyone who finds slip ups like this one. In animation, there are often mistakes made, and they aren't important, or neccesarily difficult to notice. However, plot errors are something that are not only less common, but just plain more interesting. Good one. Another slip up appeared in the same Be Sharps episode, the one mentioned previously with Santa's Little Helper. Way to go, folks...
The name B Sharp is definitely a joke. They called themselves that for two reasons- 1. It's a musical note, which can be defined as C natural. 2. "Be Sharp"? That's a joke too!
You can indeed have a B-sharp. By definition, any western scale - major or minor - must consist of seven different notes, any number between 0 and 7 of which can be either sharp or flat. e.g C major/A minor has no sharps or flats. G major/E minor has one sharp - F#, Eb major/C minor has 4 flats - Bb, Eb, Ab and Db. The order of sharps as they are introduced to key signatures is as follows: FCGDAEB, the order of flats is the reverse - BEADGCF.
Therefore, the keys which have 7 sharps in them must contain a B# (the fact that it's techinically a C natural is irrelevant, because for the B to be sharp, the C in that key must already be sharp.)
So C# major and A# minor contain seven sharps, so the leading note in C# major and the supertonic in A# minor is B #.
It should be mentioned that very few composers ever write in these keys - 5 or 6 sharps or flats is normally the limit, and C# major and A# minor would be better rendered as Db major and Bb minor which are exactly the same.
Musicology aside, this was a damn good episode with a number of excellent references and in-gags.
Is this a music class or what? Did you stop to think that maybe that's where they got the idea for the name. Maybe Apu Nahasapemapetalon is the only one that saw the sign. Pretty convenient, don't you think?
I realize the point of the slip-up is about the sign in relation to the time the name was made but i just want to point out to the people that are talking about the B#-C thing..I'm pretty sure the reason composers use B# is because if the piece is in a key containing a C# say for instance d major..and there is a part in the piece where the notes follow the staff up say from A to D it's easier and sometimes less confusing for the player and possibly better for printing expenses to write A,B,B#,C,D as opposed to A,B,C-natural,C#,D. just though I'd throw that out there.
do you people actually watch simpsons? you're all having a seinfeld type conversation...who cares if there is any such thing as a b-sharp! That wasn't the joke. The reason they called themselves the b-sharp's was that it is a pun....
I couldn't help but add to this considering I'm a musician too. Yes, composers do use the note b# rather than a natural c when the c is already sharped. It's usually just easier to keep with the key and sharp the b rather than writing a natural c since the key is already sharp. See it in Bach pieces all the time. It's just more logical, however there are no set rules for this. To me it's one of the reasons this episode was so hilarious the play on the words kills me! I wonder where the real 'B Sharps' are today! I still wonder how we got onto this when she never even mentioned anything about music! he he
I found another mistake in this epidode but the submission thing is full. If you look at the model of homer marde made or any of the be- sharps album covers homer is bauld but he always has hair while singing in be- sharps
Actually none of you are entirely right. A B# is NOT the same as a C natural. Its actually a fraction higher; very very slightly higher than a c natural. The reason people believe its the same note is due to the equal temperament of the piano which reduces everything to 12 equal pitches. Originally keyboards had separate notes for B sharps and c naturals, or f sharps and g flats. When you play music on a string instrument like a violin, B#'s never sound the same as C naturals...UNLESS you're playing with a piano, which forces you to use equal temperament.
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