The ends of the spiral overlap where three sharp keys overlapping three flat ones. Each tonic is written as a whole note on the staff after the key signature. The keys are arranged by increasing number of sharps or flats. From there, the sharp keys progress clockwise around the spiral, and the flat keys progress counterclockwise. In this representation, the key of C major is at the top of the spiral. For example, the same black key serves as the tonic for both Gb major and F# major.īecause these enharmonic keys overlap, we can rearrange the keys from a straight line (as in the figure above) into a spiral, with the pairs of enharmonic keys overlapping: Each of these enharmonic pairs comprises two different ways of spelling the same pitch on the piano keyboard. Notice that the three keys with the most flats (Cb, Gb, and Db) are enharmonic with the three keys with the most sharps (B# F#, and C#). We can therefore arrange the tonics of the keys in a succession of fifths, with C major (the key with no sharps or flats) in the middle, and progressing upwards by fifth (to the right in the figure below) through the sharp keys, and downwards by fifth (to the left in the figure below) through the flat keys: In this way, adding a sharp has the same effect as subtracting a flat, and vice versa. In the flat keys, as we add each new flat to a key signature the tonic moves down a fifth. In the sharp keys, as we add each new sharp to a key signature the tonic moves up a fifth. For now - while we’re only working with major keys - seeing a key signature will automatically tell you where the tonic has been moved. For example, the one-sharp signature places the half steps at B–C and F#–G, moving the tonic for the major scale to G. The sharps or flats in a key signature rearrange the positions of the whole and half steps in the staff in order to move the tonic. For example, if we move the tonic to G, we say we are in the key of G major. You must also memorize the exact placement of the flats on the staves, their order, and the order of the keys they represent.Īs we learned in the previous unit, when we move the tonic to a new pitch, we say that we are in the key of that new pitch. This very same process works with the flats as well:Īnd the flats are always written on the treble and bass clef staves like this: You must learn the order of the sharps, and the order (in terms of number of sharps) of the keys they represent. You must memorize the exact placement of the sharps on each staff. The sharps are always written on the treble and bass clef staves like this: Here’s a table that shows how the keys and the sharps correspond: This process continues as sharps are added one by one. In the key signature, we’ll leave the F# as the first sharp, and add C# as the second sharp after it: Return to your list of scales, and find the scale with two sharps. We can place F# as the key signature for G major before the scale: Notice that there is only one scale that has one sharp - the G major scale. Refer back to the scales you wrote at the end of the previous unit. There’s a reason why those sharps are written in the special order shown above, and we’ll investigate that now. A group of sharps or flats applied globally at the beginning of a line of music is called a KEY SIGNATURE. That group of sharps between the clef and the meter sign tells readers that every F, C, G, D, A, and E (regardless of octave) is to be raised by a half step. ![]() We can place all of the sharps or flats from the key in a cluster at the beginning of each line, like this: It is much more efficient to indicate this once at the beginning of each line of music, rather than to write a sharp before every note that needs one. We know just which notes will always be raised by a sharp in the key of F# major: F#, G#, A#, C#, D#, and E#. So let’s refer back to the F#-major scale: That works, but it’s cumbersome and unnecessarily repetitive. Look back to the scales you wrote at the end of the last unit, and consider using the notes of the F# major scale to notate “Frère Jacques” by writing a sharp before every note that needs one: The Simplicity and Convenience of Key Signatures This unit shows you a more convenient way of altering pitches globally and systematically, through the system of key signatures. But writing sharps or flats before every note of a piece of music becomes tedious and unnecessary. Through them, you developed skills in constructing whole and half steps, became more familiar with the sharp and flat symbols, and gained a more intimate knowledge of the structure of the major scale. The scales you wrote at the end of the last unit served several purposes.
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