"A key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music."
Understanding how key signatures work and how they are represented in sheet music.
The Concept of Key: Understanding the definition of key and why it matters in music theory.
The Major Scale: Learning about major scales, their intervals, and how to construct them.
The Circle of Fifths: Understanding the circle of fifths and how it relates to key signatures.
The Key Signature: What a key signature is and how it is used to identify the key of a piece of music.
The Major Key Signatures: Learning about the twelve major key signatures and their corresponding scales.
The Minor Key Signatures: Understanding the three types of minor scales and their key signatures.
Enharmonic Key Signatures: Discussing enharmonic equivalents and how they affect key signatures.
Modulation: How to modulate from one key to another and how key signatures play a role in this process.
Accidentals: The use of accidentals in altering pitches in a key signature.
Transposition: How to transpose music into different keys and the role key signatures play in this process.
C Major: No sharps or flats, the simplest key signature.
G Major: One sharp (F#), one of the most popular key signatures for guitar and other instruments.
D Major: Two sharps (F#, C#), also popular for guitar.
A Major: Three sharps (F#, C#, G#), bright and uplifting sounding.
E Major: Four sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#), also popular for guitar, bright and lively.
B Major: Five sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#), powerful and majestic sounding.
F# Major: Six sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#), very rare but also powerful and majestic.
C# Major: Seven sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#), the rarest key signature, very challenging to play or sing.
F Major: One flat (Bb), warm and mellow sounding, commonly used in folk and jazz music.
Bb Major: Two flats (Bb, Eb), great for horn and brass instruments, has a regal or military feel.
Eb Major: Three flats (Bb, Eb, Ab), often used for marches, powerful and grand.
Ab Major: Four flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db), rich and dark sounding, often used in romantic and dramatic music.
Db Major: Five flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb), deep and powerful, often used in classical music.
Gb Major: Six flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb), very rare and challenging, a favorite of some jazz pianists.
Cb Major: Seven flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb), the rarest key signature, very challenging to play or sing.
"The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line."
"If the piece contains a section in a different key, the new key signature is placed at the beginning of that section."
"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 end of the piece or until another key signature is indicated."
"Each symbol applies to all notes in the same pitch class."
"A flat on the third line of the treble staff indicates that all notes appearing as Bs are played as B-flats."
"This convention was not universal until the late Baroque and early Classical period."
"Most of this article addresses key signatures that represent the diatonic keys of Western music."
"These [key signatures] contain either flats or sharps, but not both, and the different key signatures add flats or sharps according to the order shown in the circle of fifths."
"Each major and minor key has an associated key signature, showing up to seven flats or seven sharps."
"The key signature indicates the notes used in its scale."
"Music was sometimes notated with a key signature that did not match its key in this way."
"This can be seen in some Baroque pieces, or transcriptions of traditional modal folk tunes."
"Music published in the 1720s and 1730s may have key signatures showing sharps or flats in both octaves for notes which fall within the staff."
"The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line."
"A key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols."
"A sharp 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."
"This applies through the end of the piece or until another key signature is indicated."
"A key signature is a set of symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music to indicate the notes used in its scale."