Grade Two Music Theory Lesson 7: Working with Key Signatures

and these bass clef positions:

You need to learn the exact positions of the sharps on the staff. We never write the sharps in the following positions, for example:

The F sharp and G sharp need to be moved up an octave.

Major Key Signatures with Flats

The major keys with flats we need to know about for Grade Two Music Theory are F, Bb and Eb. The flats are always written in this order:

Bb - Eb - Ab

The treble clef flats are always written in these positions:

and the bass clef flats are written in these positions:

Again, the exact position of the flats is very important, so make sure you know where they go!

Minor Key Signatures

Music which is written in a minor key will usually use a mixture of a key signature plus accidentals. There are no special minor key signatures in music theory- we use the same ones as in the major keys, but we write accidentals in the music where they are needed.

Let's look at A minor again, as an example. Remember, we have 3 different A minor scales:

• A minor harmonic: A - B - C - D - E - F - G# - A
• A minor melodic, ascending: A - B - C - D - E - F# - G# - A
• A minor melodic, descending:  A - G - F - E - D - C- B - A

So, in our music, sometimes we might need F# or G# and sometimes not! For the key signature, we choose the notes in the melodic minor descending scale. For A minor, this means no sharps or flats, so it's the same key signature as C major.

The key signature for a minor key is always the same as the the key signature for the major key which is the 3rd degree of the minor scale. In A minor, the 3rd degree of the scale is C, so A minor and C major have the same key signatures.

We sometimes use the words "relative minor" and "relative major" to talk about this relationship. For example, C major is the relative major to A minor.

In Grade Two Music Theory, you also need to know about D minor and E minor, so let's work out the relative major keys for these two:

• D minor: D - E - F. F is the 3rd degree of the scale of D minor, so the key signature for D minor is the same as for F major - one flat.
• E minor: E - F# - G. G is the 3rd degree of the scale of E minor, so the key signature for E minor is the same as for G major - one sharp.

Re-writing Music With or Without a Key Signature

For the grade two music theory exam, you might be asked to copy out a short tune with or without a key signature. If the melody has already got a key signature, you'll have to write it without, and if it doesn't have a key signature, you'll have to re-write the music with a key signature.

From "With" to "Without"

Look carefully at the key signature and accidentals in this melody, and think about which notes need to have sharps or flats next to them:

All the Bs and Es will need to be flat, the low ones and the high ones, except where there are accidentals.

Start by pencilling in a cross above each flattened note, so you don't forget any.

Copy out the music neatly, adding the flats (or sharps) where they are needed. Remember that you only need to put one accidental in a bar for it to affect the rest of the notes in that bar that are the same pitch. Don't forget to keep any accidentals from the original tune, like the E natural here. Write the accidentals on the left side of the note, making sure they are right next to the note-head on the same line or space:

Here's the finished answer:

From "Without" to "With"

If you have to rewrite a melody with a key signature in your music theory exam, you will be told the key of the melody (phew!)

Start by putting in the correct key signature. Check above if you've forgotten them!

Now start to copy the notes. Every time you come across an accidental, check if it's already in the key signature. If it isn't in the key signature, you'll need to keep it there in the music as an accidental.

We'll use the same tune as before, but work backwards on it!

The key is Bb major, so the key signature will have Bb and Eb in it.

The only accidental in this tune which is neither a Bb or an Eb is the E natural in bar 4. So, we need to get rid of all the flats but keep this E natural:

Always go back and check your answers, as it's very easy to miss out an accidental by mistake!