©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

Key Signatures

• Key signatures tell you what sharps or

flats that a piece has.

• When you see a sharp/flat in the key

signature, you will play those notes

throughout the piece

• This means, for example, if F♯ is in the

key signature, you will play all Fs in the

music as F♯

• Key signatures always have their

sharps and flats arranged in a special

order.

The order of the sharps:

F# C# G# D# The order of the flats:

B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭Mnemonic:

Fast Chickens Go Dancing

Mnemonic:

Bears Eat and Dance

Let’s practice drawing key signatures in the treble, alto and bass clefs!

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

Keys • Music is based on a collection of high and low sounds

• Sounds are organized into groups that are equally spaced apart called octaves.

• Each octave contains 12 notes, exactly one semitone apart

• Octaves repeat the same 12 notes, from the lowest possible sound to the

highest possible sound

• On the piano keyboard, we can see how each octave has the same 12 notes.

• As you can notice in the picture above, the octave can start on any note and

repeat as you move from low to high sounds.

• The key of a piece tells us which notes in the octave we play, and which note our

octave starts on.

• The key signature of a piece tells us what key we are in.

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

• Relative keys have the same key signature Eg. G major and E minor have F# in the key signature

• Parallel keys have the same tonic note Eg. G major and G minor have the same tonic.

• Enharmonic keys sound the same.

Eg. F# major and G major sound the same

Let’s learn the key signatures of different keys. Practice

drawing the key signatures for each line!

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

To summarize the key signatures, look at the following table of

relative major and minor keys.

# Major Minor Major Minor

0 C A 0 C A

1 G E 1 F D

2 D B 2 B G

3 A F# 3 E C

4 E C# 4 A F

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

Write the following key signatures in the treble clef

C maj D maj A maj E maj G maj F maj

B flat maj E flat maj A flat maj D maj G maj E maj

D maj A maj A min E maj E flat maj B flat maj

C min D min A maj E min G min F min

B min C min E maj D min G min E min

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

Write the following key signatures in the bass clef

C maj D maj A maj E maj G maj F maj

B flat maj E flat maj A flat maj D maj G maj E maj

D maj A maj A min E maj E flat maj B flat maj

C min D min A maj E min G min F min

B min C min E maj D min G min E min

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

Write the following key signatures in the alto clef

C maj D maj A maj E maj G maj F maj

B flat maj E flat maj A flat maj D maj G maj E maj

D maj A maj A min E maj E flat maj B flat maj

C min D min A maj E min G min F min

B min C min E maj D min G min E min

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

Putting it all together! For the following melodies from the Pirates of the Caribbean suite:

1. Add the correct time signature

2. Add the key signature

Hint 1: Remember that the key signature shows all the accidentals

that a piece may have. E.g. piece with lots of F# C# G# and D# will

likely have a key signature of 4 sharps

Hint 2: Look at the time signature/rhythm signature sheet for help

with the time signatures.

Note: All the melodies have been modified for this worksheet.

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning

©Aydan Con (2020), for use by VYSO online theory learning