For both the treble and bass clef, all key signature rules on this page are identical. Learn and memorize Major and Minor Key Signatures. Flat Keys - Major. G is half step above F#. This step shows the key signature next to the treble clef and bass clef containing the correct number of sharps and flats for this scale. The white keys are named using the alphabetic letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which is a pattern that repeats up the piano keyboard. This is the key of E because E is half step above D#, which is the last sharp in the key signature. Equally, on the treble clef, note D (4th note shown) occupies the 2nd line from the top, whereas on the bass clef, the same note is the 3rd line from the top. The stave diagrams above shows the scale notes without a key signature, with the sharp / flat adjustments inserted before each note on the staff. The above rules apply to sharp-based key signatures - flat based key signatures have a similar set of rules, with the above phrase reversed. Then the same for C# in the second position, and so on for all the words in the phrase. The audio files below play every note shown on the piano above, so middle C (marked with an orange line at the bottom) is the 2nd note heard. Notice that the sharp sign is over the F line in the treble clef as well as the bass clef. This means that for the first symbol, F#, although the note and symbol are on the top line of the treble clef, the symbol really means 'Sharpen any F-Sharp note supplied on any octave in this clef, not just the F-Sharp pitch on this line'. Complete this G major scale in the bass. a bass or treble clef), there is no possibility of having 2 G-type notes, for example, with one of the notes needing an accidental next to it on the staff (a sharp, flat or natural symbol). For each of the 7 notes, look across and try to find the White note name in the Scale note name. This step shows an octave of notes in the key of. In Western tonality, specific groupings represent the major and minor keys. The numbered notes are those that might be used when building this note scale. Also, note that the order of sharps and flats is very specific and follows a definite pattern. This is why looking at the key signature is one of the most crucial things to do when 1st approaching a piece of sheet music. This step shows the notes when descending the G major scale, going from the highest note sound back to the starting note. The Solution below shows the D major key signature on the treble clef and bass clef. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line. Sharp Keys - Major. © 2021 Copyright Veler Ltd, All Rights Reserved. In the next step, only those sharp positions in this particular scale will be used. column. To understand why the D major scale has 2 sharps, have a look at the D major scale page, which shows how to identify the note positions and names for this scale. On music sheets, you will get the statement of the actual key in the notation system at the beginning of a written music piece. This step shows the order in which the symbols of a sharp key signature must be placed next to the treble and bass clef. The 8th note - the octave note, will have the same name as the first note, the tonic note. The following diagrams show the G major scale on the treble and bass clef, ascending and descending. In contrast, the G natural minor scale has a whole tone (two half-tones / semitones, two notes on the piano keyboard) between the 7th and 8th notes, and the 7th note does not lean towards the 8th note in the same way. For this major scale, all notes have a match, and so the Match? The Lesson steps then explain how to write the key signature using both clefs, including the display order and line / space staff positions of the notes, and the sharp / flat accidentals.. For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at Key signature. These note names are shown below on the treble clef followed by the bass clef. Bass clef is used for the cello, double bass and bass guitar, bassoon … The bass clef symbols are dropped to the next position for flat-based key signatures in exactly the same way. For key signatures with sharps, the key signature is the note name half step above the last sharp. The Lesson steps then explain how to identify the G major scale note interval positions, choose the note names and scale degree names. The white keys are named using the alphabetic letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which is a pattern that repeats up the piano keyboard. This step shows the descending G major scale on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. The Solution below shows the G major scale notes, intervals and scale degrees on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. Put another way, if you see a key signature with 1 sharp, that sharp will always be F# (the first phrase word). It also shows the scale degree chart for all 8 notes. For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at Key signature. , but obviously the note names will be different for each scale / key combination. To count up a Whole tone, count up by two physical piano keys, either white or black. Gb). © 2021 Copyright Veler Ltd, All Rights Reserved. The audio files below play every note shown on the piano above, so middle C (marked with an orange line at the bottom) is the 2nd note heard. Complete this G major scale and draw the correct clef at the beginning. Bass Clef Lines and Spaces. For a sharp-based key signature (like this scale), the order is easily remembered using the following phrase, whose first letters indicate the note names to be sharpened: So if the scale contains note F#, this is always the first sharp key signature symbol shown next to the treble or bass clef in the note F staff position(top line). Every white or black key could have a flat(b) or sharp(#) accidental name, depending on how that note is used. Again, every time an “F” is seen in the music it should be played F#. To count up a Half-tone (semitone), count up from the last note up by one physical piano key, either white or black. The key signature for this scale is shown below, with the key signature symbols in the correct order as per the phrase in the above step, and the note names in the same order as shown in Step 2. Now take the 5th note of the major scale whose tonic is C - the C major scale - this is note G (the 3rd word of the phrase). If the natural white note can be found in the scale note, the scale note is written in the Match? This step shows the white and black note names on a piano keyboard so that the note names are familiar for later steps, and to show that the note names start repeating themselves after 12 notes. 3 4: Learn: Play: Quiz: 2. F#) or a flat(eg. Have a look at the Cb major key signature. A quarter note can receive more or less than one count depending on the time signature. Every white or black key could have a flat(b) or sharp(#) accidental name, depending on how that note is used. For example, in the final step below, you will see that the scale tonic / starting note appears twice on the both treble and bass clef. To apply this rule, firstly list the white key names starting from the tonic, which are shown the White column below. ... You actually already know one key signature, the key of C! The rule ensures that every position of a staff is used once and once only - whether that position be a note in a space, or a note on a line. The exercise could not be displayed because JavaScript is disabled. This is to reflect the fact that all note positions on the bass clef are one line or space lower than the treble clef. Note 1 is the tonic note - the starting note - G, and note 13 is the same note name but one octave higher. Scale degree names 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 8 below are always the same for all major and minor scales (ie. In reality, any note could occur in multiple octaves ie. But since this is a scale in the key of G, it is certain that notes 1 and 13 will be used in the scale. Major key signatures in treble clef. G Major Scale (bass clef) 3-4: Learn: Play: Quiz Mystery Note Mystery Note: 2: none: Play: none: Song Birds ... See a scale pattern and name the key signature that makes it a Major or a relative minor scale. The Solution below shows the D major key signature on the treble clef and bass clef.. Learn: Play: D major key signature. For the key signature of this scale, showing these symbols grouped correctly next to the bass or treble clef symbol at the beginning, have a look at the G major key signature. Add the correct key signature. Here is G Major/E Minor in the Bass Clef…. In this case, the 7th note is called the subtonic. The other interesting thing about this phrase / pattern is that given any sharp symbol in the key signature, the symbols before that symbol will always exist. The G harmonic minor scale and G melodic minor scale scales share the same property - they both have only one half-tone / semitone between the 7th and 8th notes. This is needed to ensure that when it comes to writing the scale notes on a musical staff (eg. The tonic note (shown as *) is the starting point and is always the 1st note in the major scale. This step shows the number of sharps or flats in the scale so that the number of symbols needed for the key signature can be identified. Then list the 7 notes in the scale so far, shown in the next column. The first scale has a key signature. In terms of scale degrees, G is the tonic of the Gmaj scale, A is the supertonic, B is the mediant, C is the subdominant, D is the dominant, E is the submediant, F is the leading tone and you move to G which is the octave of the scale. 3 4. The exercise could not be displayed because JavaScript is disabled. This means that every time the note F appears, it will be raised by a semitone to F sharp. Since it is the only F-clef commonly encountered, the terms "F-clef" and "bass clef" are often regarded as synonymous. Learn: Play: Quiz: 3. In a later step, if sharp or flat notes are used, the exact accidental names will be chosen. Another example - if a key signature has note D# (4th word / symbol), then it will always have the first 3 symbols before it. Starting from the bottom of the bass clef staff, the lines represent G, B, D, F and A. Have a look at Cb major key signature for details. This is the key of G because F# is the last sharp in the key signature. For example: C Major and A Minor. The stave diagrams above shows the scale notes without a key signature, with the sharp / flat adjustments inserted before each note on the staff. Now take the 5th note of the major scale whose tonic is G - the G major scale - this is note D (the 4th word of the phrase), and so on. Bass Clef. The key signature is placed after the clef indication (treble or bass, for example) at the beginning of a staff or after a double bar line—the separation necessary for a change of signature—within a staff. Note values change depending on the time signature. The Lesson steps then explain how to write the key signature using both clefs, including the display order and line / space staff positions of the notes, and the sharp / flat accidentals. The staff above is to demonstrate all possible sharp symbol positions in a key signature. So assuming octave note 8 has been played in the step above, the notes now descend back to the tonic. The images below show the key signatures for all major keys in treble and bass clefs. The key signature symbols are always shown in the same order, no matter what the order of the actual notes on the staff. G Major and E Minor have 1 sharp; D Major and B Minor have 2 sharps; A Major and F# Minor have 3 sharps; and so on… Use the circle of fifths to recall how many sharps or flats each key signature has, and to understand which major and minor keys are relative (or share the same key signature). The only difference between them is that the bass clef symbols are shifted down to the next line or space (and of course the note pitches are lower on the bass clef). Key signatures. The G indicated by the treble clef is the G above middle C, while the F indicated by the bass clef is the F below middle C. (C clef indicates middle C.) So treble clef and bass clef together cover many of the notes that are in the range of human voices and of most instruments. For the key signature of this scale, showing these symbols grouped correctly next to the bass or treble clef symbol at the beginning, have a look at the G major key signature. For example, on the treble clef, note C (2nd note shown) occupies the 2nd space from the top, whereas on the bass clef, the same note is the 3rd space from the top. For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at Major scale. This step shows the G major scale degrees - tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading note / tone, and octave. This major scale key is on the Circle of 5ths - D major on circle of 5ths, which means that it is a commonly used major scale key. This step shows the ascending G major scale on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. The key signature is set of sharps or flats (never mixed) shown after the treble or bass clef on the musical staff. The second scale needs sharp next to a note. It does this because in this scale, the 7th note is only 1 semitone away from the 8th note - the octave note. For major scales, the notes names when descending are just the reverse of the ascending names. This step tries to assign note names to the piano keys identified in the previous step, so that they can be written on a note staff in the Solution section. The 7 unique notes in a scale need to be named such that each letter from A to G is used once only, so each note name is either a natural white name(A.. G) , a sharp(eg. Sharp Keys - minor. Applying The Circle Taking the 1st letter of the 1st word in the phrase - F, the 5th note of the major scale with its name as the tonic - F major scale is note C (the 2nd word of the phrase). The line between the two bass clef dots is the “F” line on the bass clef staff, and it’s also referred to as the F clef. The only F-clef still in use is the bass clef, with the clef placed on the fourth line. column shows the major scale note names. The above staff diagrams show only one possible staff position for each note letter A to G, on each clef. This step applies the major scale note interval pattern starting from G, so that the correct piano keys and note pitches can be identified. In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. For instance, let’s take a look at the signature for the key of G or E minor. Key signatures are found in Bass Clef as well. Video: Middle C (midi note 60) is shown with an orange line under the 2nd note on the piano diagram. For example, if a key signature has note B# (last phrase word / symbol), then it will always have the other 6 symbols before it. The Father Charles.. order for key signature symbol placement is not accidental, and follows the music theory pattern called the Circle of fifths. The bass clef is sometimes called the F clef because the bass clef symbol has two dots that surround the line F . These note names are shown below on the treble clef followed by the bass clef. On the bass clef, Middle C is shown with an orange ledger line above the main 5 staff lines. The specific note positions used to identify each note A..G above are just a convention used to group the key signature symbols neatly around the centre of the staff, but any symbol actually applies to that note in all octaves on a given clef. Another example is the key of F Major or D minor. Since this is a sharp-based key signature, the music theory rules for constructing key signatures containing sharps are covered in the next step. The key signature in music is represented by one or many flats (b) or sharps (#), so-called accidentals (the exception is C Major for which no accidentals are shown). appear more than once on the treble or bass clef, with a higher or lower pitch. Major key signatures in bass clef 1. This major scale key is on the Circle of 5ths - G major on circle of 5ths, which means that it is a commonly used major scale key. Note that each key signature will include either sharps or flats, but never both at the same time. 4 5. Can you name the raised note? In a later step, if sharp or flat notes are used, the exact accidental names will be chosen. … 1st note is always tonic, 2nd is supertonic etc.) Or if a key signature has 2 sharps, those sharps will always be F# and C#. This step shows the white and black note names on a piano keyboard so that the note names are familiar for later steps, and to show that the note names start repeating themselves after 12 notes. To learn more about these patterns, have a look at Learn the circle of fifths. Advanced Treble Clef Lines & Spaces. The major scale uses the  W-W-H-W-W-W-H  note counting rule to identify the scale note positions. In the major scale, the 7th note is called the leading note or leading tone because the sound of the 7th note feels like it wants to resolve and finish at the octave note, when all scale notes are played in sequence.