Key Signatures

How to remember Key Signatures

More useful tips!

The order of the flats is: B, E, A, D, G, C, F The first four flats spell BEAD. I used to remember British European Airways Do Good Continental Flights which probably once was true but BEA no longer exist anymore. Other people have come up with – Blanket Exploded And Dad Got Charred Feet etc.

Blanket Exploded And Dad Got Charred Feet

F, C, G, D, A, E, B are the order of the sharps. Try and remember a phrase like this one for the order of the sharps: Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds.

Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds.

Even more useful tips!

Have you noticed that the order of the sharps is the same as the flats only backwards!

BEADGCF ↔ FCGDAEB

Look at the piano keyboard and notice how the order of the flat keys (F-Bb-Eb-Ab etc.) move down from middle C in perfect 5th intervals whereas the sharp keys do the same but ascending (G-D-A-E etc.) This is the Circle of 5ths.

The sharps and flats do exactly the same.

Minor Keys

To work out the minor key signatures then first think of the tonic or parallel major and subtract 3. Say you need to know C minor. First think about C major. C major has a value of 0. Subtract 3. Your result is -3. Minus 3 means three flats. So C minor has three flats. Now remember the order B-E-A. So C minor has Bb, Eb and Ab.

If you need to work out a more difficult minor key say F# minor for instance, then start with F major. Add 7. -1 +7 = 6 so F# major has 6 sharps. Then subtract 3 (ending up with F# minor = 3 sharps)

I’ll need to have a rest now….I think I’ve worn my brain out!  SORRY!