If we start again from our neutral C major scale, and spell a major scale out from the fourth degree, F, the results are: F G A B♭ C D E F-one flat is added to the key. What about flats? Flats work the same way. We’ve seen how a single sharp can be added to a key. Every time we start a new scale on the fifth of a key, a single sharp is added to the old key signature, resulting in the new key signature. Applying the formula once again to the note D, we will produce the notes D E F♯ G A B C♯ D. What if we spell a new major scale from the fifth of G? The fifth note of G is D. This is because they are an effective way of visualizing music. While useful in understanding notation, key signatures are also valuable even if we never read music. This key signature will represent the key of G major. Notice that the sharp is placed squarely over the line of the treble clef note F. This symbol indicates that, until otherwise specified, all “F” will actually be “F♯”. So the standard practice is to declare it at the beginning of a piece of music, called a key signature A marking used at the beginning of a piece of written music to indicate the key normally, which notes will be sharp or which notes will be flat.

When writing notation, will we always write a sharp when F appears? That seems annoying.

What is the order of flats