Key signatures and degrees
Key signatures
Writing a sharp in front of every F in a piece in G major would be tiring. Instead, the sharps or flats a key needs are written once, at the start of every stave, as a key signature. They apply to every note with that letter name, in every octave, all through the piece.
| Key | Key signature |
|---|---|
| C major | no sharps or flats |
| G major | one sharp: F sharp |
| D major | two sharps: F sharp and C sharp |
| F major | one flat: B flat |
Tip: one sharp means G major and one flat means F major; two sharps mean D major, and a key signature with nothing in it means C major.
Degrees of the scale
Each note of a scale is a degree, numbered from the first note: the first note is the 1st degree, the next the 2nd, and so on up to the 8th, which is the first note again an octave higher.
Worked example: find a degree
Which note is the 6th degree of F major?
- Write out the scale from F: F, G, A, B flat, C, D.
- Count them: F is the 1st, so the 6th is D.
Tip: always start counting from the first note of the scale as 1, not 0.
This question is in Brainlag Plus