Music


Key Signatures?

Music key signatures tell you what sharps or flats to play
in a key. One way to learn how to play chords is by knowing the key
signature of the root note of the chord. Key signatures also tell you
what notes to play in a scale.

C major is the only key that
has no sharps or flats.

There are 7 key signatures
that have sharps in them. Here they are:

G: F#
D: F#, C#
A: F#, C#, G#
E: F#, C#, G#, D#
B: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#
F#: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#
C#: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#

Notice that all the keys repeat the sharps from the keys before. An
easy saying to remember the order of the sharps is:
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.

The last sharp of the key is
always the note before the name of the
key. For example, F# is the last note before G. D# is the last note
before E. If you remember the saying, you can figure out how
many sharps are in each key.

For example, “Father
Charles Goes Down And”. A comes before B so, B
major has 5 sharps. Because of the saying you know they are F, C, G, D,
and A sharp.

Here’s what the sharps look like on a staff. This is the key
of C# Major.

Now for the flats. There are also 7 keys that have
key signatures with flats in them.

Here’s a list:

F: Bb
Bb: Bb, Eb
Eb: Bb, Eb, Ab
Ab: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
Db: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
Gb: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
Cb: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb

Here’s an easy way to remember the order of the flats. The first
4 flats spell the word “bead”. Then, you
just need to remember G C F.

Also, the last flat in the
previous key tells you what the next key
with one more flat will be. For example, Eb major has 3 flats
– Bb, Eb,
Ab. So the key that has 4 flats is Ab.

Here’s how all of the flats look on the staff. This is the
key of Cb Major.

Music key signatures are always written the same on the staff.
So, if you need to write them, always put them on the same lines or
spaces you see here.

When playing in a specific key
signature, remember to always play a sharp or flat if
it’s in the key signature.
If something sounds a little off while you’re playing, check
that
you’re playing the right sharps or flats. If the key
signature says to
play an F#, every F should be an F#.