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Now that you have understood how major scales are constructed, you may have notice by now that you are confronted with having so many flats and sharps when you are constructing other major scales such as the B Major scale or the D Flat Major scale.
Let us take for example the construction of the C sharp Major Scale, by applying the formula for the major scale we get;
Now, you will notice that there are too many sharps and that would really scare most the music students away. Of course, not to mention that this is one of the most difficult scales to play.
The point there is, it would be more convenient if we could write this scale in some other way that is more pleasing to the eye and mushc easier to read.
Key Signatures
- it is the arrangement of the necessary flats and sharps of a scale and appears at the beginning of a staff within a composition after the clef.
You have seen above the different major scales but written in their proper key signatures and is now more convenient to look at.
Here are a list of the different key signatures and how they are written.
To help you memorize these key signatures faster, let me introduce this mnemonic to you. Go Down And Eat Banana Fe Cruz. Remember these words and you'll be having no problem recalling the key signatures for the sharps. When you want to know what key signature that has 3 sharps, then it will be A major because it's the third word of the sequence.
As for remembering key signatures using flats, just remember the following words. Fat Boys Eat Apple During Good Climate. You use them just like how you use the words to remember sharp key signatures. If you want to know what key signature that uses 4 flats, then you just remember the 4th word of the sequence. A flat Major.
Now, let me explain to you how we exactly write different key signatures. What are the rules?
Rules for writing key signatures on sharps
How to write key signatures on flats?
You begin with what note you would want to write but in this case I will choose the key of F which is a fourth from C. If you write the key of F using letter names and the Major scale formula, you will get the following. F G A Bb C D E F.
Notice that you have one flat in the key of F and that is Bb, take a look at how it is played on the piano and notice one black key is played in the key of F.
Now that we have shown that there is one flat note in the key of F, we write its key signature this way
Notice that the flat sign is written on the third line. This means that all B's written in this key signature is to be played flat instead of a natural B note. Unless you will see a natural sign canceling the flat sign beside a note head.
To write the next key signature, we recall the our mnemonic Fat Boys Eat Apple During Good Climate. We then know that the key signature with 2 flats would be the key of Bb. To prove that, by applying our Major Scale formula we get Bb C D Eb F G A Bb.
On the keyboard notice how many black keys are played.
Now this how we write the key signature of Bb.
We count 4 steps up from the third line as our first count, we end up on the 4 space. This key signature tells us to play every B note and E note in this key as Bb and Eb.
To continue writing on the key signatures involving flat, just remember the rule, Count up by 4 steps then go down by 5 steps.
Thus, if we continue to the next key signature, a fourth from Bb, we get to Eb and we write it this way, this time on both G clef and F clef.
I think it is by now pretty obvious and easy how to write key signatures involving flats, just by following the given rule. Count up by 4 and count down by 5
Here are the rest of the key signatures in flats, notice how the given rule on how to write applies.
How to write key signatures involving sharps?
Remember that the successive tonics of major scales involving flats are a fourth above the previous scale. As for the successive tonics of Major Scales involving sharps, they are a fifth above the previous tonic.
Remember our mnemonic for memorizing key signatures on sharps? Go Down And Eat Banana Fe Cruz.
From the key of C where there are no sharps or flats, we get the first key signature on sharps which is a fifth above C and that is the key of G.
Applying the rule on constructing major scales, we get, G A B C D E F# G
Notice there is only one black key being played on the key of G
The rule on writing key signatures involving sharps varies a little bit unlike the flats which is very stable. What I mean by this is upon reaching the 5th sharp on this key signature, the rule is a little bit different compare to first four sharps.
Count up by five go down by 4. This rule applies up to the key of E which has 4 sharps
After the fourth sharp, instead of going up by 5, you go down again by 4 and then resume to going up by five and going down by 4.
If you have anymore questions on this topic please feel free to comment below.
