Which key signature has one sharp

For key signatures having two to seven flats, the name of the major key is the name of the next to the last flat the flat 2nd from the right of the key signature. The order that flats appear in the key signature follow the descending circle of fifths beginning with B flat and continuing to F flat. Flats in a key signatures are always drawn in a specific order. To find the name of the minor key signature, first determine the name of the major key signature and then count backwards three scale notes.

Sharps and flats present in the key signature affect the key name. You can also remember key signatures by relating the last right most accidental of the key signature to scale degrees.

Major - The last sharp is the leading tone of the key. Minor - The last sharp is the supertonic of the key. Major - The last flat is the subdominant of the key. Minor - The last flat is the submediant of the key.

Relative keys are major and minor keys that have different names, but share the same key signature. For example, E minor is the relative minor of G major and A flat major is the relative major of F minor.

Parallel keys are major and minor keys that have the same name, but use different key signatures. Notice that the second-to-last flat of a key signature is always the tonic note of the scale.

If you encounter a key signature containing two of more flats whose letter name you cannot remember, simply look at the second to last flat in the signature to determine the tonic tone. It is the key of Eb. It is the key of Gb.

Be sure to memorize the key signatures of both C major and Cb major. These key signatures contain the maximum amount of sharps and flats respectively. If you are confident about the positioning of the sharps and flats in these key signatures you will not have any difficulty with any of the other key signatures as they are all derived from the same sequence.

The topic of intervals is taken up later, however the interval from the first note of a scale to fifth note of a scale is used here to organize the scale in a way known as the "Circle of Fifths". The Circle of Fifths consists of a circle with 12 positions marked on the circumference like an analog clockface The key of 'C' is at the top of the circle i. Moving clockwise, the next position is G major one sharp , then D major two sharps , then A major three sharps , and so on until the key of C major is positioned where 7 o'clock would be on a clockface.

This completes the positioning of the keys that contain sharps. Next, the keys that contain flats are positioned on the circle moving in a counterclockwise direction.

The key of F major one flat is located at the 11 o'clock position, the next position at 10 o'clock is Bb major two flats , the next Eb three flats , and so on until the key of Cb major is located at 5 o'clock. These keys are enharmonics of one another, that is, C major sounds the same as Db major and so on. Link to an animated Circle of Fifths with sound. Each assignment link below is to a GIF file on a single page. This canceling out of A b lasts only as long as the measure in which the accidental appears.

By the second measure, all As should again be flatted according to the key signature. Note: You will frequently come across accidentals that may seem unnecessary.

The flat next to the A on the fourth beat of m. Such accidentals are referred to as courtesy accidentals.

Courtesy accidentals are sometimes placed in parentheses, although you will see that this practice is far from consistent as you go from one score, composer, or publisher to the next. In Chapter 6 we discussed how one octave of a major scale can be divided into two tetrachords, an upper and a lower, each of which follows the same a W-W-H step pattern.

Since the pattern of whole steps and half steps is identical in each major tetrachord, they can both be used interchangeably as either the upper or lower tetrachord of a major scale. The upper tetrachord of a C-major scale G, A, B, C could, for example, also serve as the lower tetrachord of a G-major scale:.

Notice how similar these two scales are. Scales like these that share six out of their seven pitch classes are referred to as closely-related. Their key signatures, therefore, will differ by only one accidental.

C major has no sharps, G major has one sharp. The following example shows the key signatures for C and G major, and takes the process one step further, using the upper tetrachord of G major D, E, F , G as the lower tetrachord of D-major.

Each subsequent scale, in other words, begins on the fifth degree of the scale before it as shown by the arrows :.

We can see a pattern beginning to emerge. And so on…. The following example shows all of the sharp key signatures up through seven sharps—from C major, in which none of the notes require an accidental, to C major, in which every note is sharped:. The sharps or flats in a key signature must be written in a particular order and position on the staff.

Notice how none of the sharps are written on ledger lines and that the key signatures are adjusted depending on which clef is assigned to the staff.

It is important that you memorize not only the order in which particular sharps are added to the key signature F , C , G , D , A , E , B , but also the pattern in which they are added on the staff. Note: You may find it helpful to come up with mnemonic devices to help remember these patterns. There is also a useful, quite easy trick for determining the tonic of a sharp key. In every sharp key, the right-most accidental of the key signature is the leading tone of the key.

A is the leading tone for the B major scale. Therefore, the key is B major. Write out each of the following sharp key signatures on the staff provided. Be sure to write each sharp on the appropriate line and in the correct order. Write out an F -major key signature:.

F major has six sharps. Flat key signatures can be determined similarly, though here, the lower tetrachord of each scale becomes the upper tetrachord of the next closely-related key. If we were to continue, the next key would be E b major which would have three flats B b , E b , and A b. Again, it is essential that you remember the order in which flats are added to key signatures and the pattern in which they are notated on the staff.

The second to last accidental in a flat key signature will tell you the key. E b major, for example, has three flats: B b , E b , and A b. The second to last E b is the tonic of the key! Write out each of the following flat key signatures. Be sure to write each flat on the appropriate line and in the correct order. Write out an A b -major key signature:. A b major has four flats. Write out a D b -major key signature:.

D b major has five flats. Write out an E b -major key signature:. E b major has three flats. Although treble and bass clefs are the most commonly encountered, it is also helpful to be able to write and recognize key signatures written next to other clefs. The following example shows where each sharp and flat would be written in a key signature next to treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs.

For key signatures requiring less than seven sharps or flats, simply follow the pattern as far as needed:. Notice that, for the most part, the placement pattern of sharps and flats remains the same, regardless of the clef.