The Key Signature

The Key Signature

What is a Key Signature?

• Tells which notes to play sharp or flat for the entire piece of music

• Always located after the clef and before the time signature at the beginning of the piece of music.

• Generally uses two of the three accidental signs. (Sharp and Flat)

Multiple Choice

We use the Key signature to?

• Tell what notes are sharp or flat in a piece of music

• Tell how fast or slow the piece of music should go

• Tell if we are playing high or low notes

• Tell us how loud or soft we need to play the music

The Sharp Sign

• Raises the pitch of a note by a half step

• 
  

The Natural Sign

• Cancels out a sharp or flat

The Flat Sign

• Lowers the pitch of a not by a half step.

Fill in the Blank

The sharp sign

The order of Sharps

• Tells us what order the sharps are ALWAYS in.

• Helpful phrase to help remember: Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds

• Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

The order of Flats

• Tells us the order that flat ALWAYS follow.

• Helpful phrase to remember: B.E.A.D.Greatest.Common.Factor

• BEAD Go Catch Fish

Fill in the Blank

The flat sign

Fill in the Blank

Name one of the phrases to the order of sharps

Multiple Select

Check all that applies to the key signature.

• Tells us how fast or slow to play the music.

• Tells us what notes are sharp or flat in a piece of music.

• Located after the clef and uses the sharp and flat sign.

• Can only be used in one measure of music.

The Accidental is slightly different

• Only changes a note for a measure.

• Once you move to the next measure resume going by the key signature.

How to identify the sharp key signatures

• Locate the LAST sharp.

• Move up one(1) letter

• For example, last sharp: G , move up one(1) letter to A

How to identify the flat key signature

• Locate the penultimate flat. (second to last)

• That flat is your key signature.

• For example, "The flat signs shown are B flat and E flat." Bb is the penultimate flat sign in this scenario.

• The answer would be the key of Bb.

Multiple Choice

What flat are you looking for when identifying the key signature.

• The last flat

• The penultimate flat

  (2nd to last)

• The first flat

Multiple Choice

What sharp are you looking for to identify the key signature? How many letters do you move?

• The first sharp, up four(4) letter

• The middle sharp, down two(2) letters

• The last sharp, up one(1) letter