Try to play the scale of F on the piano above. If there is only one flat, it is the key of F major (ie F is the note of the pitch that is played on the pitch pipe or keyboard before you start to sing a song). It sounds like the major scale you have sung many times 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 So if you are singing a C major scale, you start on middle C and play all the white notes up to the C above middle C. So C is played on the pitch pipe at the start of the song (it can be middle C or the C above middle C depending on your director's choice) If there are no flats and sharps then the key is C major (Just like middle C is that important note on the piano, C major is the key with no flats and sharps). If there are three flats they will be Bb, Eb and Ab and so on.īut wait there's more. If there are two flats they will be Bb and Eb So if there is only one flat, it will be a Bb Remember this with: BEADs Give Choruses Fun It was news to me when I started learning music theory that the flats (or sharps) that make up the pretty pattern at the start of each line are not just randomly sprinkled there by the arranger but are always in the same order. eg F# to F Order of Flats in a Key Signature If a sharpened note has a natural sign next to it it goes down in pitch. If a flattened note has a natural sign next to it it goes up in pitch. (She is just making sure that you know it is not Ab or A#.)ĭid you notice that we say "A flat" but the flat sign is actually written before the note not after it? If someone uses the term natural eg "A natural" - it is the same as saying A. Make sure you know the difference and you can write them too - you might want to write one on your music one day. It not only affects the note it is next to but any other notes after it in the same bar (measure).Ī natural sign looks a bit like a sharp sign. This changes the note from the given key signature. ![]() The final step in understanding the basics about Key Signatures is seeing and playing examples of what we've gone through so far, at the piano and go through all of this together.An accidental is a note that has a flat, sharp or natural sign next to it. For flats: simply go to the next to the last flat listed in the key signature, and that note is the name of the Key.Īll sharps and flats are listed in a specific order and when you learn that order, it will be a lot easier to recognize what sharps or flats are in a given key signature.The note that you land on is the Key that you are in. For sharps: simply go to the last sharp listed in the key signature and then count up a 1/2 step.In order to find out what key we are in we just have to learn a simple formula! There is 1 for sharps and 1 for flats. But notice how there isn't an E sharp listed in the Key Signature? Our example in image 1 shows us 4 sharps and that happens to be the key of E Major if we're playing in that specific Key. Remember that we only learn what notes to play in a piece when we look at the Key Signature. Let's look now at how we can figure out what key we are in even when we can't tell by the Key Signature. The one thing that a Key Signature doesn't tell us is what key we are in. This tells us that every time we play one of these 4 notes, we will play them sharp. In this example, our 4 sharps are F#, C#, G#, & D#. The image shows a small note drawn in the middle of each one to show you how to see these. The way we can tell what note the sharp sign is on is by looking right in the center of it, and that is our note. ![]() Image 2 shows us a Key Signature that has 4 sharps in it. It tells us also which notes are played as sharps, flats, or naturals. It will also be noted in each clef.Ī Key Signature tells us what notes to play in a given Key. Key Signatures will always be written at the beginning of each line in your music right before the time signature. Just like you have your own unique signature that you use every day, each Key in music has its own unique signature as well.
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