The most common keys in jazz are Eb, Bb, F, Ab and Db.

In hard rock styles, keys such as E and B Keys such as C, G, D and A are frequent in popular music. C, F, G, D and Bb are some of the most common keys and are also considered as easier to play compared to keys with more sharps or flats. Nevertheless, some will probably be more frequent in the repertoire. Typical keys for the piano and for musical stylesĪ piano player will by time get familiar with all keys. A Minor will be indicated as C Major and so on. Instead, minor key signatures corresponds to their realtive major key signatures. No uniche signatures are used for minor keys. (Interactive quiz in this musical area is accessible in the member section.) The F sharp key (the picture below) is indicated with six sharps in the following order, from left to right: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#. G# - because of a double sharp it is normally not used.ĭ# - because of two double sharps it is normally not used.Ī# - because of three double sharps it is normally not used.Ī good thing to know about is that when keys are indicated, the sharps and flats are always in the same order: List of all keys with accidentalsĪ complete list of keys with flats and sharps: If there is a song in A Minor, it is indicated by a C key signature. This is because major keys have a relative minor key ( learn more about what distinguish keys from scales). A key signature doesn't indicate that the piece is played in major, it can also be played in minor. There are no specific symbols for Minor keys. In these cases, the tune normally starts and, especially, ends on a C note.Īlthough, it is not necessary notes from the C Major Scale throughout the whole tune other notes can be involved as well as key changes (the key change for a while and when return to the original key). So what does “in the key of C mean”? It means that the music is played with notes included in the C Major Scale primarily. In one case – the key of C (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) – there are neither sharps nor flats indicated: For example, Bm doesn't become a Bbm in the key of F. Notice that chords aren't affected by key signatures. F# is, for example, the black key to the right of F and Bb is the black key to the left of B (see also Scale theory – Fundamentals). The sharp (#) means that the black key is to the right of the white key and the flat (b) means that the black key is to the left on the white key.

In both cases, the # and b symbols mean that you play on a black key instead of a white. The notes in the F Major scale are F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E. The flat symbol (b) is placed on the B line in the grand staff. This becomes logical if you are familiar with note reading. In musical notation with double note systems (which is the standard form of music written for the piano) the accidentals are placed lower in the bass clef compared to the treble staff. The F position on the musical staff is marked with a sharp symbol and this is because the notes in the G Major key are G, A, B, C, D, E, F#. Examples of key signatures and their symbols Key changes occur in musical pieces, which are indicated by a temporally key signature that turns up in the staff when the change happen. You can see symbols for flats or sharps near the clefs, this is the key signature. On music sheets, you will get the statement of the actual key in the notation system at the beginning of a written music piece. 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).

Music keys chart