Written Music Tutorial #1 ( Pitch )
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Keys and Key Signatures

Keys

Generally, when a piece or section of a piece of music contains only the notes of a given Major Scale, that piece or section of a piece is in the given key.
In other words, if it contains only notes from the C Major Scale, it is in the Key of C. If it contains only notes from the G Major Scale, it is in the Key of G - and so on and so forth.

In western music we have 12 Major Keys and 12 minor Keys. The minor keys are considered relative keys of the major keys.

Key Signatures

Major Keys		Relative Minor Keys		Signature
Scale	Notes	Scale	Notes
C Major	C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C	A minor	A,B,C,D,E,F,G,A
Db Major	Db,Eb,F,Gb,Ab,Bb,C,Db	Bb minor	Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,Gb,Ab,Bb
D Major	D,E,F#,G,A,B,C#,D	B minor	B,C#,D,E,F#,G,A,B
Eb Major	Eb,F,G,Ab,Bb,C,D,Eb	C minor	C,D,Eb,F,G,Ab,Bb,C
E Major	E,F#,G#,A,B,C#,D#,E	C# minor	C#,D#,E,F#,G#,A,B,C#
F Major	F,G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F	D minor	D,E,F,G,A,Bb,C,D
Gb Major	Gb,Ab,Bb,Cb,Db,Eb,F,Gb	Eb minor	Eb,F,Gb,Ab,Bb,Cb,Db,Eb
G Major	G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G	E minor	E,F#,G,A,B,C,D,E
Ab Major	Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,G,Ab	F minor	F,G,Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F
A Major	A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G#,A	F minor	F#,G#,A,B,C#,D,E,F
Bb Major	Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G,A,Bb	G minor	G,A,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G
B Major	B,C#,D#,E,F#,G#,A#,B	G# minor	G#,A#,B,C#,D#,E,F#,G#

In the table above you can see that notes in the relative minor scales are exactly the same as the notes in their respective major scales - only they start in a different place. The C Major Scale is often referred to as the Natural Scale because it has no sharps (#) or flats (b). In other words, all it's notes are natural (not altered).



In the illustration above we have three examples:

1. The G Major Scale
2. A passage in the key of G not using a Key Signature
3. A passage in the key of G using a Key Signature

The F# in the Key Signature takes care of all of the F#'s in all octaves. The sharps or flats in a Key Signature apply to all occurences of those sharps or flats in all octaves and remain in effect for the duration of the piece or until they're cancelled out. Key Signatures are cancelled out by making a new key signature with Natural signs replacing the sharps or flats from the original key signature.

The Natural Sign:

In the following illustration we have piece starting with 3 sharps in the key signature (the Key of A Major) changing to a key signature of 1 flat (Key of F Major). Notice the 3 sharps are cancelled out by the 3 natural signs that procede the key signature of 1 flat.

Written Music Tutorial #1 ( Pitch )
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