Key Signatures Test

• Test A day, next Thursday 1/30• Test B day, next Friday 1/31

Why learn Key Signatures?

• So we can read and sing music• So we can locate “do” sometimes called

the root, tonic or key note.

The Key Signature• At the beginning of

every piece of music we find a key signature and a time signature.

• The key signature is a collection of sharps and flats in specific locations on the staff

Learning the key signatures• Remember the notes on the staff?

• Write the note names on the staff including the notes above and below

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____

C DG

E FA B C D E F G A B

For sharps: Go up one note from the last sharp (on the right)

For flats:count down four notes from the last

flat OR the second to last flat names the key

Key of Chas no sharps or flats

D E

F G

DC

G A

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Sharp Keys

G D A E

B F# C#

Flat keys

F B A

D G C

E

Things to remember

• The sharp keys will be plain notes most of the time i.e. A not A# or B not B#. The key of F# and the key of C# are the only exceptions we will deal with.

• The flat keys will be something flat other than the key of F. So it will be Eb or Ab.

• The key of C has NO sharps or flats in the key signature.