This key signature is first in because it has no sharps and no flats. Every one of these new keys will have one more sharp than the one before it. So we start with C major that has no sharps or flats. The next key signature is 5 steps up from C and it will have 1 sharp. The next one is 5 steps above that and it will have 2 sharps. So what note is 5 up from C major? The answer is G so the key signature that is next in line is G major.
And so on and on with this pattern until we get to C sharp. So the sequence of our sharp key signatures but starting from C major is:. Notice that 5 steps up from B brings us to F sharp not F natural. Instead of going up, we count down 5 steps from the current key signature and that brings us to the next one.
Every new key will have one more flat than the one before it. So counting 5 down from C brought us to F. That means that the first flat key is F major and it has 1 flat. The next key will be 5 down from F and it will have 2 flats. From this point on, all key signatures will have flats. So what is 5 steps down from B flat? And so on and on until we get to C flat.
So the sequence of our key signatures with flats but starting from C major is:. By counting 5 up every time, on the sharp side we get these major keys:. Now we need to figure out what the sharps and flats actually are. That means that C major has no sharps, G major has one sharp, D major has 2 sharps, A major has 3 sharps and so on until we get to C sharp which has 7 sharps all of its notes are sharpened.
Here are the names of the major key signatures that have sharps AND the amount of sharps they get:. Same thing happens with the flat keys. C major has no flats, F major has one flat, B flat major has 2 flats, E flat major has 3 flats and so on until we get to C flat major which has 7 flats all of its notes are flattened.
This is our sequence of sharps. F is the first sharp, C is the second sharp, G is the third sharp and so on. So rather than use this scale, the key signature of its enharmonic scale - Bb major key signature will be used below. Since this is a flat-based key signature, the general rules around constructing key signatures containing flats are covered in the next step. The key signature is set of sharps or flats never mixed shown after the treble or bass clef on the musical staff.
The key signature symbols are always shown in the same order, no matter what the order of the actual notes on the staff. For a flat-based key signature like this scale , the order is easily remembered using the following phrase, whose first letters indicate the note name to be flattened:. So if the scale contains note Bb , this is always the first flat key signature symbol shown next to the treble or bass clef in the note B staff position middle line. Then the same for Eb in the second position, and so on for all the words in the phrase.
The B attle E nds.. Taking the 1st letter of the 1st word in the phrase - B , the 4th note of the major scale with its name as the tonic - B major scale is note E the 2nd word of the phrase. Now take the 4th note of the major scale whose tonic is E - the E major scale - this is note A the 3rd word of the phrase. Now take the 4th note of the major scale whose tonic is A - the A major scale - this is note D the 4th word of the phrase , and so on. Put another way, if you see a key signature with 1 flat symbol, that flat will always be Bb the first phrase word.
Or if a key signature has 2 flats, those flats will always be Bb and Eb. To learn more about these patterns, have a look at Learn the circle of fifths. The above rules apply to flat-based key signatures - sharp based key signatures have a similar set of rules, with the above phrase reversed. Have a look at the C major key signature. The staff above is to demonstrate all possible flat symbol positions in a key signature. In the next step, only those flat positions in this particular scale will be used.
Notice how much more cluttered the score appears:. In this chapter, we will discuss how a key is established using the pitches of a major scale, how to determine a major key from a given key signature, and how to write key signatures on bass and treble clefs.
We will also look at relationships between major scales and how to organize them with regards to one another. Chapter 6 discusses the role of the tonic the keynote as the most prominent note of a major scale. When a piece is in a major key it takes the pitches from that major scale and gives the tonic a position of primary importance. The remaining scale degrees are treated according to a hierarchy relative to the tonic. This is a very good indication that this melody is in the key of C major.
To determine the key of this melody—C major or F major—we need to decide which note sounds most like the tonic. Listen to the melody again and consider which pitch, C or F, sounds more stable—in other words, which pitch sounds more restful, more like a musical destination and less like an attraction along the way.
It is likely that you heard the pitch C as having greater stability. Simply looking at the melody, we can see that C occupies a more stable position than the pitch class F. The excerpt begins and ends on C, and C holds a prominent position at the end of m. Whenever F appears, on the other hand, it is given a shorter note-value, and is always within a descending stepwise passage toward C.
Because the pitch class C is the most stable-sounding pitch in the melody, Example 8—3 is in the key of C major. The melody from Example 8—3 can be written in any major key.
The following example transposes it rewrites it at a different pitch level to E major by raising each note up two whole steps, putting E in the most stable position. The melody sounds the same, only higher:. Identify the key of each of the following melodies by considering which scale is represented by the present pitches and by looking for points of stability that might be the tonic note.
B b major. Look for stable pitches that might be the tonic. Note that the melody might not begin on the tonic! Each major scale contains a distinct set of seven pitch classes.
Again, see Chapter 6 for a lengthier discussion of the major scale. One major scale may share as many as six pitches with another, as we saw in Example 8—3, but not all. Two major scales that share seven pitch classes in common are considered to be the same scale.
Since each major scale is unique in this way, a piece in a major key will draw from the same pitches as its corresponding major scale. These sharps and flats used in the corresponding major scale are usually written at the beginning of each line in a key signature.
The key signature is a collection of sharps or flats that indicates which notes should be raised or lowered so that they belong to the key. In C major, there are no sharps or flats in the key signature, just as there are no sharps or flats in the C major scale.
In keys other than C major, the key signature is written to the right of the clef, just before the time signature, at the beginning of each line of music. The following example shows the same melody in E major but here makes use of a key signature instead of writing out all the accidentals:. E major has four sharps F , C , G , and D , all of which appear in the key signature. Even though D is not used in this melody, the accidental is left in the key signature.
Doing so makes it clear that this excerpt is in E major. Sharps or flats in the key signature affect more than just the notes whose line or space they share:. The first sharp of the key signature in Example 8—6 centered on the top line of the staff applies to the note on the same line, making it F.
Likewise, the second sharp of the key signature centered on the third space on the staff applies to the note on the same space, making it C. The accidentals appearing in the key signature apply to every instance of that pitch class. The F and C in the second half of Example 8—6 are both sharp even though the key signature does not include an accidental on their respective space and line. Note: The sharps in the key signature are centered on the line or space of the note to which they apply.
As you will see momentarily, the same is true of key signatures using flats. The head of the flat accidental is centered on the line or space of the note it affects. E b major. Pitches specified by the key signature can be canceled out by an accidental next to a note, as in the following example:. This piece is in E b major, which has three flats B b , E b , and A b as specified by the key signature. 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.
0コメント