i am completely panicked.

my theory exam is next week and i STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW I IDENTIFY WHAT KEY A PIECE IS IN.

i am really worried.

please help.

Try not to worry - keys aren't too bad to figure out once you get to know them. Do you play an instrument? This helps as if you play the scales you get used to knowing what sharps / flats are in a key.

You can also figure the keys out by looking at the key signature - if it's a sharp sign all you need to do is go up a semi tone from the last one printed. For example if there's an Fsharp and a C sharp there all you need to do is go up a semitone from the C sharp which gives you a D - so you are in D Major.

Flats are little bit trickier - for flats you go to the second flat in from the end and that is what key it is - for example if there's a Bflat, Eflat and Aflat - you go to the second one in (the Eflat) and that gives you the key - Eflat major The only one that doesn't fit the rule is F major - that just has a Bb.

Hope this helps and good luck with the exam!

but how do i know if its in a major or minor key?

Look at the notes in the extract. For example, if the key signature has only a Bb, the piece could be in either F major or D minor. If there are any C#s in the piece, then it is likely to be D minor.

Car Expert

You could always look at what note it starts and ends on *usually* it will start and end on the root note of what key its in too - so dminor would have a D at the end (or a note from a Dminor chord) - this is not gospal mind you, but *usually* works

What grade are you going for?

An extract in a major key will usually not have any accidentals. An extract in a minor key usually will. The accidental will most likely be the last note of the scale.

So: there's one flat, so you must be in either F major or D minor. If there are no accidentals it's probably F major. If there are accidentals they will probably be C#s. C# is the last note of D minor, so you're in D minor. (C# is also a VERY unlikely note to have in F major.)

All this is assuming you're doing Grade 5 or below.

grade 5.

I had a problem with this too. My teacher couldn't understand why this was the only thing that I was getting wrong in my practice papers. I had been looking at several bars, and looking out for accidentals etc. I finally got it sorted during my last lesson before my exam:

I did my grade five a couple of years ago, so I hope that this hasn't changed: In grade five, they ask you the key at a particular point of a piece, I seem to remember something about it being marked with an asterisk.

All you need to do is look at the chord at that point. If the notes are C E G, then the key is C major. If the notes are C Eb G, then the key is C minor. Etc.

I hope that helps.

If it is MAJOR, and there are SHARPS, the key is one note up from the last sharp

eg if the piece has F sharp and C sharp one not up from C is D, so the piece is Dmajor
If the piece has F, C, G and D sharps, you go one note up from D to Emajor.

If it is MAJOR, and there are FLATS, the key note is the penultimate (last but one) flat.

eg if the piece has B falt and E falt, the last but one flat is B flat so the key is B flat major
if the piece has B, E, A and D flats the last but one flat is A - the key is A flat major.

***F major doesn't fit this so well, just remember it has B flat******

Right, now for the minors.

You can spot a minor quite easily, have a quick look at the extract, are there lots of accidentals? - If no, then again for G5, assume it is major. if the answer is yes, then for grade 5 lets assume it is a minor key.

1) What note is the accidental on - the note raised with an accidental will probably be the RAISED 7th

EG if you have a piece with F sharp in the key signature but there are a lot of D sharps marked as accidentals, then assume that D is the raised 7th note, which makes the 8th/1st note of the scale E so you can guess that the key is Eminor

2) Check this - Every minor key has a relative major, that is a major key with the same sharps or flats in the key signature. EG C major has the same key signature as A minor. REMEMBER this one and you should be able to work them all out. The relative minor is 3 Semitones lower than the major.

Back to the example. The key signature had F sharp in. Which major key has F sharp. As explained above, count one note up from F to G so G major has F sharp.
Now work out relative minor by counting 3 Semitones DOWN from RELATIVE MAJOR.

G - down one to
F sharp - down one to
F natural - down one to
E

This fits with the assumption we made from the raised 7th.


See if you can work this example -

In the key signature B, E, A and D flats
As an accidental throught E natural.

I hope this helps!

thanks boogiecat.

also just wondering, you have to sharpen the sixth and seventh notest in a harmonic minor scale, right?
but then, suppose im writing a scale in E flat minor, I would be using flats to make the scale right. But then whe it comes to the sixth and seventh notes, i have to sharpen them, don't i? So am I allowed to use both flats and sharps when im writing out a harmonic minor scale (or any scale for that matter)?

Natural minor - merely the key signature
Harmonic Minor - the 7th scale degree is raised by a semitone
Melodic Minor - raise 6th & 7th scale degrees by a semitone when ascending, and lower them on the way down

To raise a flat by a semitone, you merely make it natural (ie a semitone above B-flat is B-natural). Think about it in terms of raising or lowering by a semitone, rather than "making it sharper", if that makes sense!

i understand that, but am I allowed to use both sharps and flats when I am writing out a scale, or am I allowed to use only one of them?

You can use both (as long as you are using the corect enharmonic spelling for notes - not just changing at random). So for example, D harmonic minor has the following notes:

D E F G A B-flat C-sharp D (B-flat in the key signature, C-sharp is the raised 7th)

thanks so much nic. =)

You're welcome

Good luck with it all, let usknow if you have any further questions!

Sharps and flats CAN both be used in a scale, but you can't put both in the key signature

examples, D minor - work out relative major - F major, so in key signature you need to put a B flat

then 7th note C becomes a sharp with an accidental

G minor also does this, so in the key signature you will need that of the relative major IE B flat major (which has B falt and E flat) then raise the 7th note - F - with an accidental.

The "sharpen" word is correct but sometimes misleading-it implies you just stick a sharp next to the note which as you spotted makes for some peculiar scales!! I prefer "Raise a semitone" it leaves no ambiguity.

So, E flat minor.

Firstly, relative major is G flat major - this has B, E, A, D, G and C flats - Put this in key signature

If HARMONIC go ahead and raise the 7th note - D flat - a semitone to D natural

If MELODIC on the way up you raise the 6th and 7th notes a semitone, so C flat to C natural and D flat to D natural.
On the way down you want all the notes to agree with the key signature, so if it is all in the same bar as the ascending part, you will need to cancel any accidentals you have put in. If you are just asked to write the DESCENDING melodic then you don't need any accidentals at all.

Let us know how you get on!

You could make yourself some flash cards...my sons are taking G2 Theory soon...the younger one can just remember key sigs but the older can't retain any patterns...can't do tables either... but the flash cards have really helped. He plays inst and sings but doesn't appear to take much note of key sigs.

You not only may use both, you must; especially to make sure that you don't include the same note twice in a scale, (e.g write C sharp in the scale of D minor (one flat), not D flat as then there would be 2 D's)

To clarify, in some cases you must uses both sharps and flats, but not in all scales. Just make sure you have every single letter from A-G, you should have only the key note twice (once at top and once at bottom)

Sorry to disagree but I think that's wrong: C E G could be the subdominant Chord in G major - you need to look at the whole phrase and see how many sharps or flats (for the key signature) and whether there are any accidentals - if there are (and beware - sometimes they are accidentals "by ommission" i.e. a note which isn't flattened or sharpened when it seems as though it should be) then it's probably minor.

Even then sometimes you may need a little help, so play it to yourself in your head and see which note and chord the phrasing seems to be resolving to. You might also try humming (silently, if you know what I mean) the major scale and see if the music fits it, then try silently humming the minor - the chances are that one of them will just sound wrong.

Can be difficult to get the hang of though, good luck.


Thankyou!

Another way to think of it is just to make sure that you have a note of each letter in the scale. Sounds obvious, but when you get to the scales with a lot of flats and sharps this will help to clarify how you should be writing them out. So you can't start c sharp minor off by writing C#, Eflat, E natural.....it has to be C#, D#, E....

If you can write out the circle of fifths for yourself, this is a really useful thing to do on a piece of spare paper before you start the test questions. You are unlikely to make a mistake if you set it out in front of you correctly like that and the circle itself is self checking.

Good luck - stay calm!

i was just finishing an excercise in music theory made easy when i came across a troubling question.

There was an extract from a song with no key signature (which meant it was C major). I was meant to identify which key the piece was in. As I was reading the piece, i was thinking to myself: "Yea, there are no accidentals in this extract which means it must be in C major." But, at the end I came across a G sharp, and I started wondering if c major really was the right answer.

PLEASE HELP.

Your starting point should be - No sharps or flats in the key signature therfore it is EITHER C major OR A minor. A G sharp accidental is a big clue (it is the 7th note of a scale on A so it is the raised 7th you are looking for). I would check there are no other Gs in the piece which have not been sharpened as that would be a complication (unlikely in grade 5). Then check the notes present at the start and end of the piece, particularly what does it end on?

The finishing note is a better guide than the starting one, and the bass a better guide than the tune.

I just checked the Beethoven symphonies

No Key Bass Tune Comment
1.. C .... C .... E .... The chord has a Bb in it, and immediately modulates to F major!!
2.. D .... D .... D
3.. Eb .. Eb ... Eb
4.. Bb .. Bb .. Bb
5.. Cm . G .... G .... Could be Eb major until bar 11 (B natural in 'cellos & bassoons).
6.. F .... F ..... A
7.. A .... A .... A
8.. F .... F ..... C
9.. Dm . A .... E.... No key established until C# appears in perfect cadence at bar 21!!

The tune starts with the keynote in 3, the bass in 7 out of the 9.

There was the one sharp which is G, if you take that to be the 7th note of the minor scale then you have a minor. The relative major then would be - C major, this fits with the key signature.

So, I would assume A minor. As has been said in previous comments, you can use the start and end note just to check - I wouldn't use it as the sole basis for determining a key.

Also, haven't mentioned this before, here's an example as it's an easier way of demonstrating

You write down by the side of a piece F C G D A E B then tick off the sharps as you find them (this is a really good way to keep track of the sharps, I'm sure you will have come across a mnemonic for them along the way). If you find you have F C and D ie missing out the G, check through the piece and see if there are any Gs in the piece at all. If there aren't and there's nothing to disagree with it, then it will be E major.

When you do this with flats and it's a minor key, watch out. Another example...notice that F minor/A flat major, you write by the side B E A D G C F - you will tick off B, A and D - there's a gap where E should be - this could be the raised 7th, if there are E naturals in the piece. If there aren't any Es at all, you want to check other things eg beginning and end note sing it in your head if you can as in this case the key could be either F minor or A flat major.

If you think of it as "raising" and "restoring" the 6th and 7th rather than sharpening and flattening, that might help.

HHEEEELLLPPP!!

what does it mean (in a string quarter) when a note is like this:

_|_
|
O

something like that. with a line through the sticky up bit of a note.

PLEASE RESPOND AS FAST AS YOU CANNN!!!

Play a minim's worth of quavers (ie four quavers). If there were two lines you'd play a minim's worth of semiquavers (ie eight semiquavers). If the note were a semibreve there wouldn't be a tail (obviously) but there would still be one or more lines above the note.