Question abt music and key signatures...?

Question

I have a question about key signatures: If I am given a question like: Write the key signature for D major, how am I supposed to know whether to use the method of finding the key sig. for sharps or flat. Could u plz explain the whole process? I am rly confused. Thx so much!!!

Answer 1

Just remember tis mnemonic device:



Fat Cows Go Down And Eat Barley or...



F C G D A E B



you get those notes in that order through the circle of fifths. we know that C has no sharps nor flats right, so that is our start point. Going to the right direction from C tells how many sharps there are. Thus,



C (0 sharps) G (1 sharp) D (2 sharps) A (3 sharps) , etc.



but which notes are sharped? we know how many notes are sharped, but now we need to know which notes are the ones sharped. Luckily, that same order tells us this information:



F C G D A E B



the order of sharps always follow that order. So, we said that G only has one sharp; so the first sharp is F, thus the key of G major has one sharped F.



What about E major? well, E is the fourth note from C, so it has four sharps. So the four sharped notes are F, C, G, and D.



hopefully you got the concept!

Answer 2

For D Major - there are 2 sharps: F Sharp and C Sharp.



D, E, F sharp, G, A, B, C sharp, D



I have listed all the keys out.

To remember it more easily - the flats are the reverse order of the sharps.

It is easier to memorize this. The circle of 5ths may be a bit confusing if you are not too familar with music reading.





No Flats or Sharps: C Major

Sharps (in ascending order from 1-7 sharps): G, D, A, E, B, F sharp, C Sharp.

Flats (in ascending order from 1-7 flats): F, B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, C flat.

Answer 3

Okay, there's this thing called the circle of fifths. It's the band geek's best friend.

http://songweaver.com/music/images/co5.gif

it shows you how many sharps and flats are in each key.

Like, C has no sharps or flats, and D has two sharps. If you have to use key signatures a lot, it helps SO much to just memorize this thing. Hope I helped!