Become the Best Key Signature Identifier
Why are scales and key signatures so important for musicians and how can they be memorised?
Many students don’t truly understand why they need to practise and memorise scales. They do it to pass exams or because their teacher requires them to know them, but they are never too excited when asked to play them or recite the order of sharps and flats. They often think very hard about the amount of flats or sharps contained in each scale and often get confused about the order.
Scales are the ABC of music and an important tool which will guide you into a deeper understanding of how music works. The depth of our musical comprehension and knowledge stems from our understanding of our scales and key signatures. It’s a crucial tool for composers, those who would like to study music academically or become professional musicians. Students who would like to learn how to improvise and enjoy their instrument in a more creative way will greatly benefit from knowing their scales. Those who are good at scales will also be able to sight read with more confidence and accuracy and will find it fairly easy to pass their ABRSM grade 5 music theory exams, which are now online.
Here are four tips on how to memorise major sharp and flat scales and their corresponding sharps and flats:
1. Recite the scales in the order of the Circle of 5ths over and over. Turn it into a catchy song or rhythmic pattern and eventually you’ll memorise it by heart. The order for major sharp scales is: G – D – A – E – B- F#- C# and the order for major flat scales is: F – Bb – Eb – Ab – Db-Gb- Cb.
Please note that C major is the only scale that has no sharps or flats!
2. Memorising the order of sharps and flats in the key signatures.
It is an important part when identifying major and minor keys:
The order of sharps is F – C – G – D – A – E – B
The order of flats is B – E – A – D – G – C – F
A useful mnemonic that works forward and backward is “Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle,” which reversed is “Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father.” This is a fun way to remember the order of scales in relation to the order of sharps and flats in the circle of fifths.
3. When you are faced with a sharp (♯) key in a piece of music, you can figure out which major scale relates to that sharp by looking at the sharp if only one appears or the last sharp (furthest to the right) in the key signature. Go up a semitone (half step) from the last sharp to find the letter name of the scale.
In the first example below we have only one sharp - F#. Half step up from F# is G, therefore the scale we are in is G major.
4. When you are faced with a flat (♭) key signature, all you have to do is look to the second-to-last flat (the second flat from the right). The only scale you can’t use this method with is F major, which only has one flat.
In the below examples the second-to-last flat is highlighted which tells you the name of the major flat scale.
I hope you find these tips helpful and useful. We have introduced these tips to many of our students during their online music theory classes and they have found them very beneficial, especially during their online ABRSM music theory exams. If you have any further questions please feel free to book a call with us today.
All the best on your musical journey!
🎵 Ashbea Music 🎵
P.S. This can only be memorised if you are consistently and diligently revising and memorising the above material.
Here are some additional resources you can buy to help you on your journey of becoming the best key signature identifier!
