How to remember key signs in keys. Why fifth and why circle? Key signs in D major

How to remember key signs in keys

How to remember keys and their key signs? Everyone remembers differently: some try to remember the number of characters, others try to memorize the names of keys with their key characters, others come up with something else. In fact, everything is much simpler and you only need to remember two things, the rest will be remembered automatically.

Key signs - what is it?

These are sharps and flats, which are recorded on each musical line next to the key and are valid throughout the entire work or until they are canceled.

Sharp order and flat order

Key signs exhibited not randomly, but in a certain order.

Sharp order: fa, do, salt, re, la, mi, si.

The order of the flats is reversed:si, mi, la, re, sol, do, fa. Here's what it looks like in music notation:

In these rows, in both cases, all seven basic steps are used, which are well known to everyone: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si- only they are specially arranged in a certain sequence. We will work with these two orders in order to learn how to identify key signs in one key or another easily and correctly. Look again and remember the order:

How many keys are used in music?

Total 30 keys are used in music- 15 major and 15 parallel minor ones. Parallel keys such keys are called that have the same key signs, therefore, the same scale, but differ in tonic and their mode (I remind you that the tonic and mode determine the name of the key).

Of these 30 keys:

2 without signs (this is C major and A minor - we just remember them);

14 sharp (7 - major keys and 7 - minor keys parallel to them);

14 flat (also 7 major and 7 minor).

Thus, from 0 to 7 key signs (sharps or flats) may be required to indicate the key. Remember that there are no signs in C major and A minor! Remember also that in C-sharp major (and A-sharp minor) and in C-flat major (and parallel A-flat minor), respectively, 7 sharps and flats each.

How to identify key signs in keys?

To determine the signs in all other keys, we will use the already known order of sharps or, if necessary, the order of flats. We will focus only on major keys, that is, in order to determine the key signs of a minor key, you must first find the major tonic parallel to it, which is located on minor third above the original minor tonic.

In order to determine key signs in sharp major key, we act according to the rule: last sharp one note below the tonic. That is, we simply list all the sharps in order until we get to the one that is a note below the tonic.

For example, in order to determine the key signs in B major, we list the sharps in order: fa, do, salt, re, la - we stop at la, since la is a note lower than si.

Signs of flat major keys we define it as follows: we list the order of the flats and stop at the next flat after the tonic has been named. So the rule here is: the last flat covers the major tonic (as if protecting from the wind)(that is, it is the next after the tonic). To find signs for a flat minor key, you must first determine its parallel major key.

Sharps or flats?

A question that may naturally arise in your mind is: “How do you know which of the keys are sharp and which are flat”? Most major keys with tonics from white keys (with the exception of C and F) are sharp. Flat major keys are those whose tonics are in the order of flats (i.e. B-flat major, E-flat major, etc.). This issue will be considered in more detail in an article devoted to the whole system of keys, called quarto- circle of fifths.

fifth circle

Circle of Fifths (or Circle of Fifths)- an open two-way sequence of keys, reflecting the degree of their relationship. It is visually depicted in the form of a circle, from which it got its name.

The sequence contains major keys paired with their parallel minor keys. When moving clockwise along the circle of fifths, the tonic of each subsequent major key is separated from the previous one (upwards) by a pure fifth, and one sharp is added to the recording at the key. When moving counterclockwise, the interval (ascending) is a perfect fourth, and flats are added to the notes.

Since an octave consists of 12 semitones, a fourth of 5, and a fifth of 7, then 12 quarts or 12 fifths make up several octaves and therefore the thirteenth keys, if counted in any direction along the circle of fifths, coincide with C major. Since 12 is coprime with 5 and 7, all keys can be obtained by considering any 12 in a row in a circle. It also follows from this that the keys will eventually coincide if we move in opposite directions (for example, Ges = Fis). Therefore, only 5-7 steps in each direction are usually used, leaving keys with a large number of accidental signs only in theory.

For the first time, the quarto-fifth circle was described in the book “The Idea of ​​Musician Grammar” in 1679. The author of the work is composer Nikolai Pavlovich Diletsky.

In all keys of the circle of fourths and fifths, such works as cycles of 24 preludes by Chopin and Shostakovich were written. J.S. Bach showed the equality of all keys by writing the famous Well-Tempered Clavier.

If you have already started studying solfeggio, then you know that any major key is built as follows: tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone.

The defining tonic is the first note of the first degree. If you take the key of C major, the note C will be the tonic. For clarity, we can consider an example of tonality. The first step is sol-la, move from the note sol in the indicated order up:

Salt-la - tone
La-si - tone
Si-do - semitone
Do-re - tone
Re-mi - tone
Mi-fa # - tone
Fa# - salt - semitone

So, you got the key of G major with one sign (sharp - #) with the key with the following scale: salt - la - si - do - re - mi - fa # - salt.

If you start building tones In a similar way, moving up the fifths, you get 6 more keys:

1. D major - 2 #
2. A major - 3 #
3. E major - 4 #
4. B major - 5 #
5. F sharp major - 6 #
6. Do- – 7 #

However, to determine the number of characters in a key in a particular key, you do not need to constantly build a scale in accordance with the rule of seven steps, it is enough to remember the order of sharps, which never changes:

1. Fa#
2. Before#
3. Salt#
4. Re#
5. La#
6. Mi#
7. C#

So, if you take a key with three sharps, it will be F#, C# and G#. If with two, then fa # and do #. Another important rule is that the tonic in the major mode is the next ascending note after the last sharp in the key. If you have three sharps - fa #, do # and salt #, then the tonic will be the note la, and the key, respectively, will be . Thus, when you need to determine the number of characters in the key of any key, it is enough to take the previous sharp note in descending order in the octave and determine it serial number in a series of sharps. For example, you are asked to determine the number of sharps in the key of E major. The previous note is D#. In a series of sharps, it takes fourth place, which means that there are four signs with a key - re #, salt #, do # and fa #.

minor scale

If you have already figured out the key signs of major keys, then it will be much easier to deal with minor ones. Exist parallel keys. These are major and minor keys with the same key signs. The distance between them is one minor third down from the tonic of the minor key. In other words, to determine the parallel minor key, you need to go down from the major tonic by three semitones.

It is not necessary to memorize the correspondences between major and minor keys; over time, this will settle down in your head on its own. But it’s worth learning the order of flats to determine the signs and their number with the key.
So, the order of flats looks like this:

1. Si
2. Mi
3. La
4. Re
5. Salt
6. Before
7. Fa

Flats are counted in the same way as the counting method in major keys, only the tonic rule is different here. The major tonic is not the next note, but the penultimate flat of those given in the key. That is, if you take a tonality with four flats (si, mi, la, re), then the third of them (aka the penultimate one) - la - will be the tonic. Thus, you get the key of A flat major. Using the rule of "three flats", get the F minor tonic and the F minor key.

Practical study guide.
It is aimed at students of the level 2-3 of the music school and above.
Can be used as a reference.
© Alliot Krage (Elliot Craig)

The chapter is called "Unused keys" not because these keys are not used when playing, when playing all 12 keys are used (from the point of view of practice), but because these keys, or rather the names and key signs, as a system of organization, are not used FOR MUSIC NOTATION.

Below is a list of keys that are not used for recording music. It is theoretically possible to build them, and practically it is possible but not necessary. They are not used due to the presence of a large number of accidentals in the key (more than seven) with the presence of double sharps and double flats, which makes it difficult to read musical material and is simply irrational.

Just for fun, I provided them with illustrations with key accidentals.

The left column of the table shows the names of keys that are not used. The following is a list of sounds included in these keys with completed "Houses" (see the theory of the Seven Houses. Note by the author) accidental signs. Notice the presence of double sharps and double flats. Tonics are highlighted in color. Then there are parallel keys, some of which are in italics. These are the keys that are used, but with different accidentals.

All this is provided with illustrations of key signs.

UNUSED KEYS
and their key accidentals

accidentals	number of alter characters.	key name	Houses with accidental signs							parallel key
			C	D	E	F	G	A	H
	9#		##	#	#	##	#	#	#	B sharp minor
	8#		#	#	#	##	#	#	#	E sharp minor
	10#		##	#	#	##	##	#	#	G minor
	8b		b	b	b	b	b	b	bb	D flat minor
	11#		##	##	#	##	##	#	#	D minor
	12#		##	##	#	##	##	##	#	La Minor
	11b		b	bb	bb	b	b	bb	bb	G major
	9b		b	b	bb	b	b	b	bb	in A major
	10b		b	b	bb	b	b	bb	bb	D major

Good luck with your study.

Copyright Elliot Craig.

Reproduction of the manual or any part of it in any form without the written permission of the author is prohibited.

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All major keys are built according to the same formula: 2 tones - a semitone, 3 tones - a semitone. The same formula can be written in another way, through intervals: 2b-2b-2m-2b-2b-2b-2m. Build an A-major scale according to one of the proposed schemes. If you already know how to play the piano a little, then remember that between adjacent keys, regardless of their color, the distance is half a tone.

How to build an A-major scale

Find the sound "la" on the keyboard. Set aside a distance of 1 tone from this key. This will be the note "si". The next key, located at a distance of one tone from the "si", will be black - this is "c-sharp". Having completed the scale according to this scheme, you will get the following scale: la, si, c-sharp, re, mi, f-sharp, sol-sharp, la. You will get the same result by constructing a certain interval from each sound, that is, a large or small second. Between the sounds "la" and "si" - a big second, between "si" and "c-sharp" - too, but between "c-sharp" and "re" - a small second.

Determination of the number of signs on the fourth-quint circle

It is very easy to determine the number of key signs using the circle of fifths. You can make it yourself. Sometimes it is drawn in the form of a spiral, but for a beginner it is enough to learn how to count only 12 keys, so it is easiest to imagine a fourth-quint circle in the form of a clock face. In place of the mark "12" write "C-major", aka C-dur. Sharp tonalities are arranged clockwise as the number of key characters increases, counterclockwise - flat keys, also as the number of characters increases. Count from the sound "to" a fifth up. This is the fifth degree of the C major key, that is, the sound "sol". Where the number "1" would be on the dial, write "G major" and put one sharp. In sheet music it will be F sharp. Where the number "2" is, write the name of the next key. To find it, count the fifth up again, but already from the sound "salt". This will be the "re" sound. Write the name of the key, put two sharps. You can designate them - F-sharp and C-sharp. Decide which key name will be in the third circle. Counting the fifth from the “re” key, you will get the sound “la”, and accordingly, the key will be A-major, in the Latin designation - A-dur. Accordingly, it contains F-sharp, C-sharp and D-sharp. In this way you can complete the first half of the circle of fourths.

Other keys

As for the keys, the names of which will be located counterclockwise, you can also determine them yourself, only from the original sound you need to build up not a fifth, but a quart. Delaying this interval from the sound "do", you get "fa", then "b-flat", "e-flat", etc. It is possible to determine the number of signs in another way, because the circle is called a quarto-quint for a reason. To find the next sharp key, you can count a fourth up, and a flat fifth down. Do not forget that in this case pure intervals are used, that is, a fourth is 2.5 tones, and a fifth is 3.5 tones.

Today you can meet a large number of educational literature, which describes almost everything. If you choose to play classical music then you have to learn the theory. This is necessary in order to be well oriented, be able to improvise and compose music.

With complete ignorance of music theory, it is best to start learning with intervals. Only after studying this section, you can start studying keys. There are 24 tones in total. Two of these keys do not have signs at the key, and the rest are characterized by the presence of sharps or flats.

What are the signs in D minor

D minor can be called one of the light keys, since it contains only 1 key sign - B-flat. It should also be remembered that all natural minor keys can acquire temporary signs. For example, in a harmonic minor, the 7th step of the scale will rise. If you project this rule to the key of D minor, then you get a C-sharp note. There is also a melodic form of the minor scale. In terms of sound, it will resemble a major, but with minor changes. In a melodic minor, when moving up, steps 6 and 7 will rise, and down you will need to play or sing a natural minor (in writing, signs of increasing or decreasing notes are canceled by the becar).

Circle of Fifths, or how to learn to improvise

The definition of the name of keys by signs with a key is taught in music schools. You can learn the keys and key signs in them yourself, using the image of the fifth circle. It depicts tonalities depending on the degree of kinship. For example, at the top of the circle there are keys without signs, then there are keys with 1, 2, 3, etc. signs at the key. Sharp keys will be indicated on the right, and flat keys on the left. If you memorize the circle of fifths, then you can easily pick up an accompaniment to a melody, improvise, and also understand the key, in which there are a large number of characters in the key.

How to determine the tonality of a work by key signs

When learning an unfamiliar work, you first need to determine the key in which it is written. To do this, you should pay attention to the signs at the key. It is also necessary to take into account the end of the work, since the same key signs can be present in two keys - major or parallel minor. Only when these two factors are taken into account will you be able to accurately determine the tone of the piece.

It should be noted,