| Key signatures are a theoretical approach to knowing | | | | circle correspond to the number of sharps (right side |
| what scales, chords and ideas you can play during a | | | | numbers) and the number of flats (left side numbers). |
| song without worrying about playing wrong notes. | | | | There are a lot of different style of the circle of |
| You can use the chords in a song to figure out what | | | | fifths charts so make sure you know what chart |
| key it is in or if you are using regular notation you | | | | your looking at and know what everything means. |
| can simply look at how many sharps and flats or flats | | | | Keys and Chords |
| there are at the beginning of the clef. Key signatures | | | | You can also tell what key you're in by studying the |
| can be major or minor and be any of the 12 notes of | | | | chords you're playing. When you're playing just power |
| music, such as A minor or C major. Key signatures | | | | chords using the root, 5th and 8th notes, you can |
| can give a certain feelings or moods to a song as | | | | judge by the root notes of the chords what key |
| well, much like major and minor chords. | | | | you're in. For example, using the chords C5, D5, G5 |
| Circle of Fifths | | | | you could be in the key of Gmaj OR Cmaj since both |
| An easy way to figure out what key your playing in | | | | keys contain the notes C, D, and G. To really narrow |
| is to use the circle of fifths chart. At the beginning of | | | | down the key you're in, you have to use chords that |
| a sheet of notation music there are a group of | | | | contain more notes. If you add in the 3rd to each |
| sharps or flats. The lines these symbols are on | | | | chord it only leaves the key of Gmaj because the |
| affects the notes on that line for the duration of the | | | | third of Dmaj is an F#, which doesn't exist in the key |
| song or until the key changes again. To use the circle | | | | of Cmaj. This shows why keys are important. If |
| of fifths chart you can just count how many sharps | | | | you're playing these three chords, C, D, and G, you |
| or flats there are on the staff and compare it to the | | | | could maybe get away with playing a Cmaj scale for |
| chart. If your music has 1 sharp, it is F major. Make | | | | the melody by leaving out some notes, but it would |
| sure if there are sharps, you use the right side of the | | | | be more to your advantage to use all the notes of |
| chart, since the left side is for flats. If there are 3 | | | | the Gmaj scale. |
| flats, the key is Eb major. The numbers inside the | | | | |
