KEY SIGNATURES

The first step in score reading is to learn how to read music notation. At NCEA level one you are expected to be able to identify notes on the treble and bass clefs, and to be able to read and understand rhythm notation. If you're new to reading music, it's a good idea to cover these skills as quickly as you can, as we will be using a LOT of music notation to help explain the concepts behind music theory.

 You can find tutorials and worksheets on how to read rhythms, as well as tutorials on reading treble and bass clefs by clicking on the links below (these will take you to lessons covered under 'Foundation Music'. 

To really get a grip on music theory, I would recommend that you work your way through a music theory workbook, with the guidance of a music tutor. For those new to music theory, check out one of the 'Foundation Music Theory Workbooks'.  You can find these here: 

C MAJOR

1) Key Signatures

At Level One NCEA, you're expected to be able to understand how key signatures work, and to be able to identify the keys C Major, F Major, Bb Major, G Major and D Major. (See below). 

G MAJOR

D MAJOR

F MAJOR

Bb Major

HOW KEY SIGNATURES WORK

However, it's a really good idea to learn how all 15 key signatures, and learn to identify them quickly and easily. Key Signatures give us a useful short-hand for how to write (and play) every major scale, and knowing your major scales is the secret to music theory. They are also really useful for sight-singing, sight-reading and a variety of other important musical skills. For a useful overview on key signatures, watch this video!

In summary, there are a total of fifteen key signatures; Seven Sharp keys, Seven Flat keys and C Major (no sharps or flats) the flats and sharps always get added to a key sign. To learn them all, you just need to remember the order in which sharps and flats are added to a key signature.

The order of the sharps are: F C G D A E B (Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle)

The order of the flats are:     B E A D G C F (Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father)

If a key signature has three sharps, those sharps will be F, C and G (the first three sharps)

If a key signature has four flats, those flats will be B, E, A and D (The first four flats)

To work out how many sharps or flats there are in a particular major key, draw a line to the right of the C

F C  I G D A E B

B E A D G C I F

Then add accidentals to the left of the line

F# C#  I G D A E B

Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb I F

Next, starting to the right of the line, number each note from 1 to 7. When you get to the end, loop back to the beginning:

SHARPS:

F# C#  I G D A E B  

6    7    I 1  2  3  4 5 

 

FLATS:

Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb I F

2    3    4    5    6    7  I  1


Using this method, you can quickly work out that the key of Eb has three flats, and that those flats are Bb, Eb, and Ab. The key of E has four sharps; F#, C#, G# and D#.

Here is a diagram with all of the possible key signatures: You can use this as a guide to help you complete the worksheets below.

WORKSHEET 1

WORKSHEET 2

DrawingMajorKeySignaturesWorksheet1.pdf

WORKSHEET 3

MajorScalesandKeySignatures.pdf

WORKSHEET 4