Key Signatures

Key Signatures

What is the function of a key signature?
To save a composer from writing in accidentals every damn time the note is to be played.

It tells you which notes are sharp or flat, depending on which key the piece is in.

For Higher music you need to know 4 Key Signatures.

First of all, please recognise the convention.

The beginning of a line of music tells you everything you need to know before you play the music. There are 3 things that each piece of music will contain before any notes, expressions, tempo, or other instructions.

they are:

1. the clef
2. the key signature
3. the time signature

In more detail:

1. the clef: whether Treble, Bass, Tenor, Alto... the clef is what gives the lines and spaces their designations.
2. the key signature: the list of notes which are always to be played sharp or flat, or it will be blank if the key you are playing in does not contain any of these notes (C major or A Minor)
3. the time signature: how many beats in each bar, and what type of beat, and indeed whether the groupings of each beat are simple (subdividing by 2 or by 4) or compound (subdividing into 3).

Remember this!

CKT

Clef - Key Signature - Time Signature.

Your Key Signatures:

Commit these to memory.