Key Signatures

As you already learned on previous lessons, Sharps, Flats and Naturals may be written when they are needed. These Sharps, Flats and Naturals are called Accidentals.

However, these Sharps and Flats are often so much a part of the music that they placed on the Stave, fits between Clef and Time Signature, designating Notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent Natural Notes, known as Key Signatures. This saves the music composer from having to write in all the Accidentals for an entire music. The good news is that a Key Signature will never have mixed Sharps and Flats, it will be either all Sharps, all Flats, or no Accidentals at all. The order of the Sharps is the reverse order of the Flats, or vice versa, so you only have to memorize them one way.

The Key Signature tells the performer many things: the type of scale the piece is based on, the most likely starting and ending notes. If there is improvising in the song (spontaneously making the melody), the Key Signature will tell the performer which Notes can be used. If a song is too high for a singer, the whole song can be lowered, and this will give you a different Key Signature.

Different Keys makes music more interesting for both listener and performer. Music will be very boring for everyone if the same Notes were used all the time.

Music written in different Keys allows that music to be played or sung by different characteristics of music instruments or voices. A single tune in one Key may be too low or too high for certain music instrument or singer, but just right tune in other Key.

Some music instruments sound better when played in certain Keys, so music for them usually written in these Keys. Sometimes certain music is too difficult to be played by certain music instruments in one Key, hence is is rearranged in other easier Key.

And sometimes a piece of music should be better written in a particular Keys because these Keys best suits the feeling of music that try to be presented by it’s composer.

Reading Key Signatures

If you read Key Signature with one Sharp has the # sign on the F line, you should play F# instead for all F, for entire music.

The Key Signatures are repeated after Clef on every line of music as a reminder.

Unless extra Accidental Sharp, Flat or Natural signs are written, you know the names of Notes you may expect to see in music with this Key Signature: all Notes will be Natural Notes, except F#:

G – A – B – C – D – E – F# – G

The above Notes in alphabetical order, starting with G, make up what is known as a Scale. Scales are named after the starting Note or Key Note, so this is the Scale of G, or G Major.

Sharp Key Signatures
Here three common Sharp Key Signatures

G Major has one Sharp that sharpens all F.
G – A – B – C – D – E – F# – G

D Major has two Sharps that sharpens all F and all C.
D – E – F# – G – A – B – C# – D

A Major has three Sharps that sharpens all F, C and G.
A – B – C# – D – E – F# – G#

Flat Key Signatures

Here three common Flats Key Signatures

F Major has one Flat that flattened all B.
F – G – A – Bb – C – D – E – F

Bb Major has two Flats that flattened all B and all E.
Bb – C – D – Eb – F – G – A – Bb

Eb Major has three Flats that flattened all B, all E and all A.
Eb – F – G – Ab – Bb – C – D – Eb

Natural Key Signature

C Major is a Natural Key Signature, where no Sharps or Flats. All written as Natural Notes.
C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C

Sometimes, music changes Key in the middle. In this case, a Double Bar Line and a new Key Signature is written where the change is to take place.

So, before you start reading musical Notes, look at Key Signature and it will be tell you which Notes to expect.

Previous Lesson: Sharps, Flats and Natural Notes

Next Lesson: Tempo in Music

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