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A key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed at the beginning of a piece of music to indicate which notes are to be played a semitone higher or lower than written throughout the composition. There are 15 key signatures in total, each representing a major musical key, with seven sharps or flats at most. The order of sharps is F, C, G, D, A, E, B, and the flats are the reverse of this order. The key signature for C major is barren as it has no sharps or flats. The key signature for G major, on the other hand, has one sharp, F♯, and the key signature for D major has two sharps, F♯ and C♯. This pattern continues, with each successive key signature raising the seventh scale degree.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of notes per octave | 12 |
| Number of notes regularly used within a section of music | 7 |
| Number of sharps in a key signature | Up to 7 |
| Number of flats in a key signature | Up to 7 |
| Number of sharps or flats in a minor scale | 0 |
| Number of key signatures | 15 |
| Order of sharps | F, C, G, D, A, E, B |
| Mnemonic for order of sharps | Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle |
| Mnemonic for order of flats | Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father |
| First sharp key signature | G |
| First flat key signature | F |
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What You'll Learn
Sharps and flats
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp, flat, or rarely, natural symbols placed at the beginning of a piece or section of music. It reminds the performer which sharps or flats are in the scale or key and prevents the composer from writing every sharp or flat from the scale each time it occurs.
The key signature indicates the section of music that follows, showing the reader which key the music is in and making it unnecessary to apply accidentals to individual notes. In standard notation, the order in which sharps or flats appear in key signatures is uniform, following the circle of fifths: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯, B♯, and B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭, F♭. Musicians can identify the key by the number of sharps or flats shown, as they always appear in the same order.
A sharp or flat symbol on a line or space of the staff indicates that the note represented by that line or space is to be played a semitone higher (sharp) or lower (flat) than it would otherwise be played. This applies through the rest of the piece or until another key signature appears. Each symbol applies to comparable notes in all octaves. For example, a flat on the fourth space of the treble staff indicates that all notes notated as Es are played as E-flats, including those on the bottom line of the staff.
The order of sharps is often remembered by the mnemonic "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle," which reversed is "Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father." As you ascend in fifths (clockwise), key signatures get one degree “sharper.” As you descend in fifths (counterclockwise), they get one degree “flatter.”
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The Circle of Fifths
When moving counterclockwise on the circle, a flat is added with each key. C major has no flats, F major has one flat, B♭ major has two flats, and so on. In this direction, each pitch is a perfect fourth higher than the last. The Circle of Fifths can be applied to minor keys as well, as each major key has a relative minor key with the same number of sharps and flats.
Additionally, the Circle of Fifths can be used to determine the tonic or key note of a piece in a major key. The tonic is a semitone above the last sharp in the signature. For instance, in the key of D major, the key signature is F# and C#, and the tonic (D) is a semitone above C#.
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Enharmonic key signatures
In music theory, enharmonic key signatures refer to keys that contain the same notes but are written differently. They are like homonyms in grammar: words that sound the same but are spelled differently. For example, the key of "C#" major is enharmonically equivalent to the key of "Db" major, as they contain the same pitches but are written differently. Similarly, "G#" minor is enharmonically equivalent to "Ab" minor, and "C#" major is enharmonically equivalent to "Db" major. These pairs of enharmonic keys have the same notes but are represented by different key signatures.
The choice between using enharmonic keys often depends on the instruments being used and the ease of reading the music. For example, flutes playing in the key of "C#" (seven sharps) would put altos in "A#" (three double sharps), while writing the same piece in "Db" (five flats) would make it easier for altos, as they would play in "Bb" (two flats). Wind players, in general, find it easier to play in flat keys over sharp keys due to the mechanics of their instruments.
Enharmonic notes and keys were more common before the adoption of 12-tone equal temperament (12 TET) tuning. In tuning systems without equal half steps, notes like "F#" and "Gb" do not indicate the same pitch but are considered enharmonically equivalent. In 12 TET, certain keys like "C#" major and "Db" major contain identical pitches and are thus enharmonic.
Enharmonic keys are also useful for transposing instruments like the saxophone and trumpet. For example, using the key of "Gb" for music that "leans flat" would give these instruments a simpler transposed key signature than using "F#".
While enharmonic keys provide options for composers to make the music easier to read and play for certain instruments, they also need to consider the theoretical development of the musicians. Using simpler key signatures with more flats may be easier to play, but it might hamper the theoretical understanding of the musicians, requiring a balance in their usage.
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Accidentals
There are five accidental symbols: the double-flat sign, the flat sign, the natural sign, the sharp sign, and the double sharp sign. The sharps or flats in the key signature represent the major or minor scale (the tonality) of the piece of music. Accidentals found within the music are subject to different rules than those found in the key signature. Accidentals in the music only apply to notes written on that line or in that space within that measure. Accidentals found in the key signature apply to every note with that name anywhere on the staff, including ledger lines.
In jazz, you can encounter key signatures that step outside of the keys listed in the circle of fifths. For example, G melodic minor would be G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F#, which contains one sharp and one flat. Accidentals can be used together when a note has been double-sharped and needs to be single-sharped; in this case, you would see a natural sign (to cancel the double sharp) followed by a sharp.
When learning to read key signatures, it is helpful to use the circle of fifths as a tool. The key of C major is considered the base when discussing music theory and musical keys because it does not contain any accidentals. Moving clockwise around the circle of fifths, each consecutive key signature gains one sharp or flat accidental at a time, making it more intuitive and easier to memorize. Moving counterclockwise, key signatures get one degree "flatter".
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Diatonic scales
The diatonic scale is often referred to as the "parent scale" of major and natural minor scales, as well as other diatonic modes. It is a neutral scale without a tonic, and the major scale is derived from it. The major scale is just one mode of the diatonic scale, and while it is the most commonly used mode today, during the Baroque period, the different modes were utilised more equally.
The seven notes of the diatonic scale can be arranged in various ways, resulting in seven different scales depending on which note is used as the beginning. These scales are known as the church modes, which include the Ionian mode (major scale) and the Aeolian mode (natural minor scale). The C major diatonic scale is the most familiar and common scale in Western music.
In Western music theory, the diatonic scale is typically represented by the white keys on a keyboard. Musicians can start and end on any note, creating a new scale by following a pattern of whole and half steps. This flexibility allows for the construction of a wide range of melodies and harmonies within the framework of the diatonic system.
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Frequently asked questions
A key signature is placed at the beginning of a piece of music to indicate which sharps or flats are in the scale or key. This is done to prevent the composer from writing every sharp or flat from the scale each time it occurs.
There are 15 key signatures in total, each representing a major musical key. Each major key also has a relative minor key, which contains the same accidentals but begins on the tonic of the minor key.
A key signature tells you which notes can be played within a diatonic scale. If there are no sharps or flats indicated, the seven available diatonic notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. This means you are either in the key of C major or A minor, as these are the only keys that contain no sharps or flats. If there are sharps or flats, this means you are in a different key.
For key signatures with sharps, go up a half step from the last sharp to find the key. For flats, the first flat key signature is the key of F, or its relative minor, D minor. These keys have a single flat note: B flat. To reach the next flat key, add an additional sharp note that is a fourth up from B flat.
