This article will discuss how to remember the keys and their key characters. Everyone remembers differently: some try to memorize the number of signs, others try to memorize the names of keys with their key signs, and still others come up with something else. In fact, everything is much simpler and you need to remember only two things, the rest will be remembered automatically.
Key signs - what is it?
People who are advanced in their musical studies probably no longer only know how to read notes, but also know what tonality is and that composers put out key signs in notes to indicate tonality. What are these key signs? These are sharps and flies, which are recorded on each note line next to the key and last throughout the entire work or until canceled.
The order of sharps and the order of bemols - you need to know!
As you may know, key signs are not displayed randomly, but in a specific order. Sharps order: fa, do, salt, re, la, mi, si. Order flatd - reverse: si, mi, la, re, salt, do, fa. Here is what it looks like in a musical notation:
In these series, in both cases, all seven basic steps are used, well known to all: before, re, mi, fa, salt, la, si - only they are specifically arranged in a certain sequence. We will work with these two orders in order to learn how to identify key signs in a particular key easily and correctly. Look again and remember the order:
How many tonalities is used in music?
We now turn directly to the key. In total, the music used 30 tonalities - 15 major and 15 parallel to them minor. Parallel keys Such tonalities are named that have the same key signs, consequently, the same scale, but differ in tonic and in their own way (I remind you that tonic and mode determine the name of the tonality).
Of these 30 tonalities:
2 without signs (this C major and La Minor - they just remember);
14 sharp (7 - major keys and 7 - minor keys parallel to them);
14 flat (also 7 major and 7 minor).
Thus, it may take from 0 to 7 key marks (sharps or flat) to indicate tonality. 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 in C major (and parallel A flat minor) respectively, 7 sharps and flat.
What are the rules for identifying key characters in keys?
In order to determine the signs in all other keys, we will use the order of sharps already known to us, or, if necessary, the order of flat. We will focus only on major keys, that is, in order to determine the key signs of the minor key, you must first find a major tonic parallel to itwhich is located on the small third above the original minor tonic.
In order to determine key marks in sharp major key, we act according to the rule: last sharp on note below tonic. That is, we simply list all the sharps in order, until we reach the one that is on the note below the tonic.
For example, in order to determine the key signs in C major, we list the sharps in order: fa, do, salt, re, la — we stop at la because la for the note below si.
Signs of flat major keys we define as follows: we enumerate the order of the bems and stop at the next flat after we have named the tonic. That is, here the rule is: the last flat closes the major tonic with itself (as if protecting from the wind) (that is, he is the next after the tonics). To find the signs for a flat minor key, you must first define its parallel major.
For example, we define signs for B-flat minor. First we find parallelism, this will be the tonality of D flat major, hereinafter referred to as the order of the flat: si, mi, la, d, g. Re is a tonic, so we stop on the next note - salt.
I think the principle is clear. For one of the flat keys - F major - this principle works with one proviso: we take the first tonic from nowhere. The fact is that in in F major when the key is the only sign - B flat, from which the order of the bems begins, so to determine the tonality we take a step back and get the original tonality - in F major.
How to find out what signs to put on the key - sharps or flat?
The question that can naturally arise in you: "How to find out which of the tonalities are sharp and which are flat"? Most major keys with white key tonics (except before and fa) - sharp. The flat key major keys are those whose tonics make up the order of the flat lines (i.e. B flat major, E flat major etc.). This issue will be discussed in more detail in the article devoted to the whole system of keys, called the quinte-quint circle.
Conclusion
Let's sum up. Now you know how to correctly identify key marks in any key. I remind you that for this you need to use the order of the sharps or the order of the flat and act according to the rules: “the last sharp on the note below the tonic” and “the last flat covers the tonic”. Focusing only on the major keys, in order to determine the characters in the minor keys, we first find its parallel.
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