These three sharp/flat keys are practically the same on the piano or keyboard and share the same place on the Circle of Fifths, but they can be identified with two different names and function differently in music theory. These keys are B Major/Cb Major, F# Major/Gb Major, and C# Major/Db Major. Enharmonic Keys are key signatures that have the same pitches but are named differently. It is vital that musicians memorise all the key signatures, including both variations of the Enharmonic keys. You should always keep in mind that for every major key signature there is a relative minor. Things to Remember When Writing and Composing Music

Signature keys with flats: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Fatherīelow are the keys in order of how many sharps/flats there are in each key: Sharps:.

Signature keys with sharps: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.

If you are unaware of the pattern, there are two easy rhymes to help you remember:

If you have studied the circle of fifths than this will not be news to you. There is a certain order that a note or pitch that is not a part of the scale is written in a key signature. The reader is expected to remember to sharp or flat those notes as he or she plays.īelow is a table that is referenced from musicnotes website (thank you) which illustrates the relationship of the 12 different notes and their relative key signatures. Instead, a key is placed at the beginning of the music in the key signature. The same notes appear numerous times throughout songs – having to write flats major or sharps every time a certain note appears can be a tedious process. If you are playing a song in a certain key, the same notes will be sharp or flat during the entire song. In music notation, the key signature tells the musician which notes to play sharp or flat. How Do Key Signatures Work in Written Notation? Knowing key signatures and learning scales is an invaluable tool for songwriters and composers. It makes music much simpler to read and allows the musician to identify the “key” of the music more easily.Īll the keys follow this pattern although it may take a little while to remember all 15 keys. This scale is the only major key with two sharps.įrom above, you can see the key signature is just a grouping of the accidentals that would have appeared in the scale. The key of D Major has two sharps - F# and C#. The major scale of D major uses the notes D, E, F#, G, A, B, and C#. To illustrate key signatures a bit better we are going to use D Major. It is the only major key using no sharps or flats so therefore the signature key remains blank. The key of C Major uses no sharps or flats. The key of C Major uses the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The key signature is a sign to the musician that they need to change the way the note is played so it fits with the key. There are 15 different key signatures to identify 12 different notes.

Either made up of a group of flats or a group of sharps, a key signature appears written on the staff and will fall in between the clef symbol and the time signature.

All music keys chart