Notation... can someone please explain this to me

Hi!

Just learning notation but have run into a slight problem... I though the sharp "#" comes after the note but here (see attached image) I see it before a note... does that not make it a flat instead of a sharp?



(click the above image to see a bigger version of it, as you can see i have copied the image twice, the second is identical except i have highlighted the problem bits/pieces)

The reason i found it a little confusing is that E does not have a sharp.... i figured it means a F sharp but still cant understand why someone would put it before the note instead of after it...

Sorry if my question is too basic, am a total beginner..

Thanks!

EDIT;
And please correct me if I am wrong... the notes are

B----G-A-B-G----A-D-F#-D----G----E-F#-G-D-----C#

right?

Those sharps are after the note. :)

The sharp is after E not after F....
or did I get my notation wrong?

Originally Posted by: musicgu7Hi!

Just learning notation but have run into a slight problem... I though the sharp "#" comes after the note but here (see attached image) I see it before a note... does that not make it a flat instead of a sharp?[/QUOTE]
I'm not very versed in notation myself, but I'm pretty sure accidentals are always placed before the intended note to be sharp, flat, or natural. So sharping the note immediately after the #, would make it an F#, and the note right before the # is uneffected. The notes are grouped close together, so without knowing before or after, I can see where it would be hard to tell to which it belongs. But there should never be a situation that calls for placing an accidental after the intended note or using a sharp to flat the note or vice versa.
[QUOTE=musicgu7]EDIT;
And please correct me if I am wrong... the notes are

B----G-A-B-G----A-D-F#-D----G----E-F#-G-D-----C#

right?

Here's what I read:
|B GABG|A DEF#D|G EF#GD|C#

Oh, and I noticed you are full access, so in case you hadn't seen it, CSchlegel made a reading music tutorial. That links to a latter page explaining accidentals, but he goes into more expansive detail on previous pages. I also really like this site regarding introductory music theory.

Originally Posted by: AkiraSharp, flat, and natural signs always come before the note it's applied to.

If you were sight reading you'd want to know whether the note is sharp or flat (or neither) before you play the note, not after you've just played it.

It's only in "normal" writing (i.e. not on a stave) that you write the sign after the note.

Good point. I stand corrected when I said a there would never be a situation with it after the affected note...more precisely, never in standard notation. :)