The Quiz: When placed next to a note, what does the symbol seen here mean?
Flat
Sharp
Natural
Soft
This small b-shaped symbol instructs the performer that the note should be played flat, which means that it should be a half-tone lower than written. The opposite accidental is called a sharp, which instructs one to play the note a half-tone higher. Sometimes, sharps and flats can be used to refer to the same note, for example, C-sharp is the same as D-flat.
The correct answer to this quiz is Flat.