A Little Music Theory

Remembering Major Key Signatures

Circle of Fifths:

The interval from C up to G is 7 semi-tones, which is known as a “fifth”. Zero sharps or flats is the key of C and then the number of sharps increases by one each time we go up the scale by one fifth. Starting at C we go up to C# (1 semi-tone), then D (2), then D# (3), then E (4), then F (5), then F# (6), then G (7 semi-tones).

Thus zero sharps is C, 1 sharp is one fifth up, or G, then 2 sharps is another fifth up, or D, etc. The same applies for flats except we start at C and go down. The key of F is one fifth down from C, so that is one flat, then Bb is down another fifth for 2 flats, etc. So the quickest and easiest way to figure out they key from the number of sharps or flats is to count up or down from C by fifths, or in other words, but intervals of 7 semi-tones.

Note that we have some duplicated keys in this scheme. C flat (Cb) is the same key as B, F# is the same as Gb, and C# is the same as Db.

Sharps	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Major Keys	C	G	D	A	E	B	F#	C#
Minor Keys	A	E	B	F#	C#	G#	D#	A#
Flats	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Major Keys	C	F	Bb	Eb	Ab	Db	Gb	Cb
Minor Keys	A	D	G	C	F	Bb	Eb	Ab

Twisted Circle of Fifths:

If counting up and down by fifths is too tricky then try going up or down in steps of 1 or 2. Thus zero sharps is C, then 2 sharps is up 2 semi-tones to D, then 4 sharps is up 2 more semi-tones from D to E, then 6 is up to F#. Then we start back at 1 sharp which is only one semi-tone up from where we left off at F# to G, then 3 is up 2 to A, 5 is up 2 to B, the 7 is up 2 to C#. The same scheme works for flats going down from C.

So start at C with zero sharps or flats, then go up or down 2, 4 or 6 semi-tones, then up or down 1, 3, 5 or 7 from 6.

Check the table below for details.

Sharps	0	Up 2	Up 4	Up 6	Up 1 more (7)	Up 3 more (9)	Up 5 more (11)	Up 7 more (13)
Major Keys	C	D	E	F#	G	A	B	C#
Minor Keys	A	B	C#	D#	E	F#	G#	A#
Flats	0	Down 2	Down 4	Down 6	Down 1 more (7)	Down 3 more (9)	Down 5 more (11)	Down 7 more (13)
Major Keys	C	Bb	Ab	Gb	F	Eb	Db	Cb
Minor Keys	A	G	F	Eb	D	C	Bb	Ab

Another Trick to Figure out Keys

· No sharps or flats – key is C major – you just have to remember this one.

· One flat – key is F major – you just have to remember this one too.

· Two to seven flats – look at the second flat from the right – the key is this note. For example, 2 flats, second flat from right is B flat, key is B flat.

· One to seven sharps – look at the sharp on the right – the key is one semitone up from this note. For example, 2 sharps, right hand sharp is C sharp, the key is one semitone up – key is D

· Minor keys are three semitones down from the major key. If the major key is F then its relative minor key is three semitones down from F, which is D (E, Eb, D). So if you realize that the piece you are looking is written in a minor key, find the major key using the number of sharps or flats and the memory rule just mentioned, then count three semitones down.

· How can you tell if the piece is written in a major or a minor key? Try to figure out what the “home” note is. If there are no sharps or flats in the signature the key is either C major or A minor. If there are a lot of C notes and C major chords in the piece then it may be in C. A three note chord with C, E and G in it is a C major chord. If there are a lot of A notes and A minor chords in the piece then it may be in A. A three note chord with A, C and E in it is an A minor chord.

· Note that, from your point of view as a singer, it does not really matter whether the key is major or minor. The notes are the same in both keys – the only difference is the starting point. If you learn the intervals for the Do based solfeggio major scale, and if you thing in terms of the home note for Do, then you will be able to read the notes correctly.

· The chart below shows all 15 possible key signatures. If you start with C in this chart and move around clockwise (skipping either synonym group: F#, C#, Cb, or C#, Cb, Gb), you will see that the interval between keys is a perfect 5^th – e.g. C major to G major, etc. Since this patterns of fifths wraps around back to C major in a circle it is referred to as the circle of fifths.

Key Signature Synonyms

· In our 12 tone musical system we have the possibility of 12 unique keys, as follows: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B/Cb

· Note that within the 12 unique keys there are 9 possible synonyms (duplicates), as follows: C/B#, C#/Db, D#/Eb, E/Fb, F/E#, F#/Gb, G#/Ab, A#/Bb, B/Cb

· Thus one could, in theory, create a total of 21 key signatures, as follows: C, B#, C#, Db, D#, Eb, E, Fb, F, E#, F#, Gb, G#, Ab, A#, Bb, B, Cb

· Modern western music uses 1 to 7 sharps, or 1 to 7 flats, or no sharps or flats, to denote the key signature. By this method you can see that there are 15 possible key signatures, of which 3 must be synonyms since we know that there are only 12 unique key signatures.

· The chart below shows the 12 unique key signatures in ascending order on the left with the 3 synonyms shown on the right. Note that the choice of which synonym is displayed on the right is purely arbitrary – Db, F# and B could equally be placed on the right side of this chart.

Moveable Solfeggio (Do, Re, Mi)

· Solfeggio notation can either be “fixed” or “moveable”. By “fixed” we mean that Do always starts on the same note – perhaps C. By “moveable” we mean that Do always starts on the first note of the key that we are singing in. If we are singing in the key of F then we sing Do on the note F.

· The moveable Solfeggio notation is useful for singers because you don’t have to worry about black notes or whites notes – you just need to learn to think in terms of intervals. By “intervals” we mean the number of half notes between notes.

· In Solfeggio notation major scales always start at Do and minor keys always start at La. Your choir director will tell you which note you major or minor scale starts on, perhaps by using a pitch pipe or by having the accompanist play the first note of the key on a piano. Or if you are working at home look at the key signature chart on the bottom to find out which note Do or La start on.

· Note that, from your point of view as a singer, it does not really matter whether the key is major or minor. The notes are the same in both keys – the only difference is the starting point. If you learn the intervals for the Do based solfeggio major scale, and if you thing in terms of the home note for Do, then you will be able to read the notes correctly.

· Click here to download a set of Solfeggio scales for all possible key signatures.

Musical Intervals

Note	Half Steps From Note 1	Interval	Ascending Examples
			From	To
1	0	Unison	Aus	der	Traube in die Tonne
	1	Minor 2^nd	I’m	dream-	-ing of a white Christmas,
2	2	Major 2^nd	Ei-	- nig	-keit und Recht und Freiheit
	3	Minor 3^rd	O	Ca-	-nada, our home and native land.
3	4	Major 3^rd	Oh	when	the Saints, go marching in,
4	5	Perfect 4^th	Grüß	Gott,	Grüß Gott mit hellem Klang.
	6	Augmented 4^th	Ma-	-ri-	-a, I’ve just met a girl like Maria
5	7	Perfect 5^th	Twinkle	Twinkle	Little Star, how I wonder
	8	Minor 6^th	Do	do	do do do do do do do (Conquest of Paradise)
6	9	Major 6^th	My	Bon-	-nie lies over the the ocean,
	10	Minor 7^th	Some-	-where	there's a place for us (West Side Story)
7	11	Major 7^th	Ba-	-li	Hai (South Pacific)
8	12	Octave	Some	where	over the rainbow,

Note	Half Steps From Note 1	Interval	Descending Examples
			From	To
1	0	Unison	Aus	der	Traube in die Tonne
	1	Minor 2^nd	Joy	to	the world
2	2	Major 2^nd	Ma-	-ry	had a little lamb
	3	Minor 3^rd	Fros-	-ty	the snowman
3	4	Major 3^rd	Swing	Low,	sweet chariot
4	5	Perfect 4^th	I've	been	working on the railroad
	6	Augmented 4^th	Ee	ah	ee ah (European police siren)
5	7	Perfect 5^th	Bring	a	torch Jeannette Isabella
	8	Minor 6^th	La	la	la la la, (Love Story Theme)
6	9	Major 6^th	No-	-body	knows the trouble I’ve seen,
	10	Minor 7^th
7	11	Major 7^th
8	12	Octave	Wil-	-low	weep for me,

Moveable Solfeggio Notation – Major Scale

Interval From Do	Moveable Solfeggio Syllable	Pronunciation	Half Steps From Do
Unison	Do	Doe	0
Minor 2^nd	Ra	Rah	1
2	Re	Ray	2
Minor 3^rd	Me	May	3
3	Mi	Mee	4
4	Fa	Fah	5
Augmented 4^th	Se	Say	6
5	Sol	Soe	7
Minor 6^th	Le	Lay	8
6	La	Lah	9
Minor 7^th	Te	Tay	10
7	Ti	Tee	11
Octave	Do	Doe	12

Moveable Solfeggio Notation – Minor Scale

Interval From La	Moveable Solfeggio Syllable	Pronunciation	Half Steps From La
Unison	La	Lah	0
Minor 2^nd	Te	Tay	1
2	Ti	Tee	2
3 (Minor 3^rd)	Do	Doe	3
Major 3^rd	Ra	Rah	4
4	Re	Ray	5
Augmented 4^th	Me	May	6
5	Mi	Mee	7
6	Fa	Fah	8
Major 6^th	Se	Say	9
7	Sol	Soe	10
Major 7^th	Le	Lay	11
Octave	La	Lah	12

(This document edited using MS Word)