Were you ever in a situation where you made a mistake about something because you didn't know some important information? It's especially embarassing if someone says "you should have known, it was written down in the instructions!" Music notation provides a way to embed important information regarding sharps and flats. We call this a KEY SIGNATURE. A key signature will provide information at the beginning of each line regarding the use of sharps or flats (some jazz scores provide this information at the beginning of the very first line only). The key signature will instruct the performer as to whether certain letter names are sharped or flatted throughout a composition. For instance with a key signature of 2 sharps (F# and C#) the performer will see a note "C" on the staff (without a sharp) however, because of the key signature, the performer should play a C#. It is not easy for a beginner to remember the key signature. It is quite common for an inexperienced musician to forget about this important instruction. ALWAYS look for a key signature as one of the first things to notice about a musical score.
| G Major |
| D Major |
| A Major |
|
| E Major |
  | B Major |
  | F# Major |
  |
| C# Major |
  |
| F Major |
  | Bb Major |
  | Eb Major |
  |
| Ab Major |
  | Db Major |
  | Gb Major |
  |
| Cb Major |
  |
If you have difficulty remembering the order of the sharps in the Key signatures memorize the following phrase (or make up your own).
Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Bagels
(Think of Garfield the cat sauntering down an alley with a big bagel.)
The first letter of each word in the phrase is also the correct order of the sharps in key signatures: F C G D A E B.
Learn the location of the sharps for the key of C# major. It includes all of the sharps.
| C# Major |
|
Here is a phrase to help remember the order of flats used in key signatures. (in keeping with the "cat and bagel" motif)
Bagel Eating Ants Destroy Good Cat Food
Learn the location of the flats for the key of Cb major. It includes all of the flats.
| Cb Major |
|
First lets look at the order of the sharps. The first sharp is F#, the second sharp is C#. Remember, the sharps of the key signature affect all octaves of that letter name. If you count the distance from F# UP to the next C# you will count 7 half steps. Go ahead, count the half steps yourself. There are even less half steps to count from F# DOWN to the next C#. There are 5 half steps from F# down to C#. Let's keep those two distances in mind, 7 half steps up or 5 half steps down. We will learn later that these distances have a name: a Perfect 5th (7 half steps) and a Perfect 4th (5 half steps). It isn't necessary that you understand why these are the names right now. All will be revealed in the chapter on intervals.
Now, what is the distance from C# (the second sharp) to the G# (the third sharp). Counting the half steps from C# up to G#, well what do you know, it's 7 half steps. Also it's 5 half steps from C# down to G# (of course). Using a different terminology, a G# is a Perfect 5th above a C#, and also a G# is a Perfect 4th below a C#.
This pattern continues...
A# (the fifth sharp) is a Perfect 5th above (or a Perfect 4th below) a D# (the fourth sharp)
E# (the sixth sharp) is a Perfect 5th above (or a Perfect 4th below) an A# (the fifth sharp)
B# (the seventh sharp) is a Perfect 5th above (or a Perfect 4th below) an E# (the sixth sharp)
If you can't (or don't) memorize the order you can always use the following knowledge. Start on F#, and then the next sharp is a Perfect 5th (7 half steps) ABOVE or a Perfect 4th (5 half steps) BELOW the current sharp. Keep going until you have seven sharps (the last two sharps are white keys!), these are all the Major Key Signatures with sharps.
With flats, it's just the opposite. The next flat is always a Perfect 5th BELOW or a Perfect 4th ABOVE the current flat. Think about it, the first flat is Bb the second flat is Eb (5 half steps higher than Bb).
This pattern continues also ...
Eb (the second flat) is a Perfect 4th above (or a Perfect 5th below) an Ab (the third flat)
Ab (the third flat) is a Perfect 4th above (or a Perfect 5th below) a Db (the fourth flat)
Db (the fourth flat) is a Perfect 4th above (or a Perfect 5th below) a Gb (the fifth flat)
Gb (the fifth flat) is a Perfect 4th above (or a Perfect 5th below) a Cb (the sixth flat)
Cb (the sixth flat) is a Perfect 4th above (or a Perfect 5th below) a Fb (the seventh flat)
Once again, if you don't memorize the order of the flats used in key signatures, you can recreate the order by using this new found knowledge. Start on Bb, and then the next flat is a Perfect 4th (5 half steps) ABOVE or a Perfect 5th (7 half steps) BELOW the current flat. Keep going until you have seven flats (the last two flats are white keys!). There they are, all the Major Key Signatures with flats.
Did you notice that the key names for these key signatures are related in the same way? As an example, the key of one sharp is G major, whereas the key of two sharps is D major (D is a Perfect 5th above or a Perfect 4th below G).
So, it seems that these intervals of a Perfect 5th and a Perfect 4th must be pretty important.
Yup.
A traditional layout for all of the key signatures is shown below. Notice the three enharmonic key signatures at the bottom of the circle.
Link to an animated Circle of Fifths with sound
While playing some local jazz gigs here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I became acquainted with a hand signal method of declaring the key signatures. It is a very simple method, point two fingers UP (like the peace sign from the 60's) and it declares the key of two SHARPS (D major), point three fingers DOWN and it declares the key of three FLATS (Eb major).
Point UP to declare sharps, the number of fingers represents the amount of sharps (both hands are needed to declare either 6 or 7 sharps)
Point DOWN to declare flats, the number of fingers represents the amount of flats (both hands are needed to declare either 6 or 7 flats)
It's sort of like knowing the secret hand shake.
Of course you have to know which keys contain the various sharps and flats. For those who have a Java enabled browser here is an applet to test your knowledge and speed of matching sharps or flats with key signatures. You might have to click in the applet area below to start it. If you need more time to figure out the answer, click in the applet area the instant you see the question. The Java applet should pause, the next click will start it again.
Open MIDI file
Open mp3 file
Play file
The above MIDI file is Invention no.1 by J.S.Bach. This piece was originally written for keyboard in the key of C major. This arrangement (unlike the original) changes orchestration throughout the composition.
The above MIDI link is to the 'Air' for the Suite in D by Bach. It uses a key signature of two sharps (D major). This piece and Invention no.1 both use accidentals in addition to the key signature to modulate into additional keys beyond the original key. The details of modulation are beyond the scope of this course however one should be aware that many pieces written in a key signature will use accidentals of either sharps or flats to effectively change the key. The key signature indicates the key in which the composition begins and ends. During the body of the compositon Bach likes to wander off to other keys.
Incidentally the Air is an example of a MIDI file that sounds very different when played with Yamaha's MIDPLUG compared to being played with Quicktime. The Quicktime performance warbles noticeably whereas the MIDPLUG performance sounds more musical.
Links to Key Signature Worksheets
| An explosion of MIDI files |
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Here is a link to Charles Kelly's MIDI files page. It contain links to thousands of MIDI files that you may be interested in hearing. Well, not all of them of course. In fact you don't have to listen to any of them if you don't want to. "Who is Charles Kelly?" you ask. Well, I don't know who he is but I like his MIDI links. Check out this site (after you've done your homework of course)
Charles Kelly's MIDI files page
Below are the major key signatures in random order. Use the answer menu (currently set to "select") to select the correct letter name for each key signature.
