Chapter Nine: Key Signatures

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MAJOR KEY SIGNATURES

The examples on the previous page explain how you can find the name of the MAJOR KEY with sharps when you are presented with the key signature. If, conversely, you are given the name of the key, to find the key signature you would reverse the process.

RULE FOR IDENTIFYING THE MAJOR KEY SIGNATURE WITH SHARPS

To identify the sharps that are in the key of B MAJOR, you would follow these steps:

The 7th scale degree in B MAJOR is A-sharp.
A-sharp is the last sharp on the right in the key signature for B MAJOR.
Name the sharps in the correct order until you get to A-sharp.
The key signature for B MAJOR has five sharps: F-sharp, C-sharp, G-sharp, D-sharp, A-sharp.

The key signature for B MAJOR would look like this:

Here is another example. To identify the sharps that are in the key of D MAJOR, don't forget to follow these steps:

Name the 7th scale degree of the MAJOR KEY.
The 7th scale degree is the last sharp on the right in the MAJOR KEY signature.
Name the sharps in the correct order until you get to the 7th scale degree.
The key signature for D MAJOR has two sharps: F-sharp, C-sharp.

The key signature for D MAJOR would look like this:

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