Lesson #4- Key Signatures

Reading sheet music is like reading a foreign language. There are rules and patterns that must be followed for the music to sound pleasing to the ear and so the musician can interpret the music correctly in order to perform it.

Before we get to the music, we must first know how to write it correctly, and know how to organize it.

To learn about how to correctly label a note, head to: http://nomusicbflat.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-is-c4.html

To learn about clefs, head to:
http://nomusicbflat.blogspot.com/2012/12/lesson-2-staffs-clefs-and-lines-oh-my.html

To learn about the major scale and whole and half steps, head to:
http://nomusicbflat.blogspot.com/2013/01/lesson-3-major-and-minor-scale.html

After reading those, the next hieroglyphic we need to interpret is the cluster of octothropes ( ♯ ), lowercase b's ( ♭), and the occasional natural ( ♮ ) known to musicians as the key signature.

An octothrope, ( ♯ ), in music is called a sharp, and raises the given note one half step. (from the given note on a piano to the very next key higher). C becomes C♯ and G becomes G♯. An italicised lowercase "b" in music is called a flat,  and lowers the given note one half step (from the given note on a piano to the very next key lower).

As we learned in lesson 1, every key has a letter and a number, and the white keys on a piano run in a certian order, A through G, then repeat. What are the names for the black keys then? The black keys are called accidentals because their pitch is not the same as the white keys to either side, and aren't usually in the key signature. The black keys sound pitchwise in between the two adjacent keys, and since there isnt a letter in between C and D, for example, what do you name the black key in between? The accidental has two names, depending on the key you are in. In the key, if D is lowered one half step, it becomes D♭, and if C is raised one half step, it becomes C♯. D♭and C♯ sound the same, but are written differently. Because of the W-W-1/2-W-W-W-1/2 pattern of the scale, and the rule that every letter is used, and none repeated except in octaves, the same pitch will be labeled differently.
If you are in a key signature with sharps, all of your notes in the major scale will either be natural (white key) or a sharp note. (F♯, C♯, etc. ) Conversely, if you are in a key signature with flats, all of your notes will either be natural or a flat ( B♭, E♭, etc.).

Its pretty daunting, even as an intermediate instrumentalist, to sit down to a piece of music only to see a key signature with more than 4 sharps or flats. However, with this simple trick that my music theory teacher taught me, anyone can read a key signature.

1) If there are no sharps or flats, the key is C major (or a minor).*
2) If there is only one flat, it is F major (or d minor)* (skip to #5 for flat keys, go to #3 for sharp keys)
 *these are the only two key signatures that you have to memorize, the rest will all follow the patterns given.
3) If your key is a sharp key, the order of the sharps from left to right is F, C, G, D, A, E, B.  The last sharp in the key signature (right-most sharp) is one half step lower than the key name. (if F# is the last sharp, G is one half step higher, and the key is G)
4) If the sharp key has more than 5 sharps, then the last sharp is one whole step lower than the key name (if E# is the last sharp, the key is F#)
5) If your key is a flat key, the order of flats is the exact opposite of the order of sharps: B, E, A, D, G, C, F. (bead, gcf) The second to last flat (from left to right) is the key name. (if E♭, the flat before is B♭and B♭is the key name)

These rules work for naming every major key signature!!!!!

This concludes our lesson for today.