Key Signatures: Chart, Order of Sharps and Flats, and How to Read Them

A key signature is the group of sharps or flats written at the start of every staff line. It tells you which notes are raised or lowered for the whole piece, and it narrows the key down to two choices: one major key and its relative minor. Two sharps (F♯ and C♯) means D major or B minor; three flats (B♭, E♭, A♭) means E♭ major or C minor.

Key signature chart: which key has how many sharps or flats?

Every number of sharps or flats from zero to seven belongs to exactly one major key and one minor key. Use this chart to look any of them up.

Key signature	Major key	Minor key
No sharps or flats	C major	A minor
1 sharp: F♯	G major	E minor
2 sharps: F♯ C♯	D major	B minor
3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯	A major	F♯ minor
4 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯	E major	C♯ minor
5 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯	B major	G♯ minor
6 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯	F♯ major	D♯ minor
7 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯	C♯ major	A♯ minor
1 flat: B♭	F major	D minor
2 flats: B♭ E♭	B♭ major	G minor
3 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭	E♭ major	C minor
4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭	A♭ major	F minor
5 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭	D♭ major	B♭ minor
6 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭	G♭ major	E♭ minor
7 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭	C♭ major	A♭ minor

Some keys sound the same but are written differently: F♯ major and G♭ major, for example. Composers usually pick the spelling with fewer accidentals, so you will see B major (5 sharps) far more often than C♭ major (7 flats).

What is the order of sharps and flats?

Sharps always appear in the order F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯, and flats in the reverse order, B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭. A key with three sharps always has F♯, C♯ and G♯, never some other three.

Two memory aids cover both:

• Sharps: "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle" (F C G D A E B).
• Flats: the same sentence backward, "Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father", or the shorter "BEAD, Greatest Common Factor" (B E A D G C F).

Each list is a chain of perfect fifths (F up to C, C up to G…), which is why the same order appears on the circle of fifths. The circle shows the keys in the same sequence as this chart.

How do you read a key signature?

You can name the major key from any signature in a few seconds with one of two tricks. Then decide between the major key and its relative minor.

Sharp keys: go up a half step from the last sharp

The last sharp in the signature is the 7th degree (the leading tone) of the major key, so the key is one half step higher.

• Last sharp F♯ → G major.
• Last sharp G♯ → A major.
• Last sharp A♯ → B major.
• Last sharp E♯ → F♯ major (not F: E♯ up a half step is F♯).

Flat keys: the second-to-last flat is the key

With two or more flats, the key is the next-to-last flat in the signature, flat included.

• B♭ E♭ → B♭ major.
• B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ → A♭ major.
• One flat has no second-to-last flat, so memorize it: one flat is F major.

Major or relative minor?

The signature can't tell you whether a piece is in the major key or its relative minor, three half steps lower. Look at the music itself:

1. Check the last bass note or chord. Pieces usually end on the tonic. A piece with one sharp that ends on E is likely in E minor; one that ends on G is likely in G major.
2. Look for a raised 7th. Minor keys often sharpen their 7th degree with an accidental. A piece with no key signature that keeps showing G♯ is very likely in A minor.
3. Listen. Play or hum the ending and ask which note feels like home. Our guides on the relative minor and on finding the key of a song go through this by ear.

Where do the sharps and flats sit on the staff?

Each sharp or flat in the signature sits on the line or space of the note it changes, in the fixed order above, in a zigzag pattern that keeps the symbols on the staff. In treble clef, the first sharp, F♯, sits on the top line (the F line), and the first flat, B♭, sits on the middle line (the B line).

A sharp or flat in the signature applies to that note in every octave, not just the line it is drawn on. F♯ written on the top line also turns the F in the bottom space, and every F on ledger lines, into F♯. If the clefs themselves are still new, start with our treble and bass clef notes guide.

The signature stays in force until a new one appears. An accidental written in the music (a sharp, flat or natural before a single note) overrides it only until the next bar line.

Common mistakes with key signatures

Most reading errors come from forgetting the signature halfway through a line, not from naming the key. These are the usual traps and how to fix them.

• Applying the sharp only to one octave. F♯ means every F. Before you play, say the altered notes out loud: "all F's and C's are sharp."
• Assuming no signature means C major. It means C major or A minor. Check the ending and look for G♯ accidentals.
• Using the half-step trick on flats. The "up a half step" rule is for sharp keys only. For flats, use the second-to-last flat.
• Skipping E♯, B♯, C♭ and F♭. These notes exist. F♯ major needs E♯ (the white key F on a piano) because each letter appears once in a scale.
• Treating the signature as the whole story. Folk, blues and modal music sometimes use a signature that doesn't match the home note. Trust what you hear as home.

Self-test: name the key

Cover the chart and answer these, then check against the table.

1. What key has 2 sharps? (D major or B minor)
2. What key has 3 flats? (E♭ major or C minor)
3. The last sharp is D♯. What is the major key? (E major)
4. The flats are B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭. What is the major key? (D♭ major)
5. A piece has one flat and ends on a D minor chord. What key is it in? (D minor)

Do five of these a day for a week, mixing sharps and flats. Then switch to real sheet music: name the key before you play the first note.

Practice reading and hearing keys in Hearmony

Hearmony doesn't drill key signatures themselves; it trains the two skills around them. The free Note Reading side quest teaches note names on the piano keyboard and the treble staff, including sharps, so the symbols in a signature turn into real notes. The Home Key Harbor adventure trains what a key sounds like: a I–IV–V–I progression sets the key, one note plays, and you name it as a scale degree (1 · Do, 3 · Mi, 7 · Ti), which is the ear-side version of telling a major key from its relative minor. Both fit into the plan in our ear training for beginners guide. Hearmony is an iPhone app, available on the App Store.

For a printed reference with every signature in both clefs, see the reference entry on key signatures.

Keep reading

• Ear Training for Beginners: Exercises and a 7-Day Plan
• The Circle of Fifths: How to Read It and Use It
• Relative Minor: How to Find It in Any Key (With Chart)
• Bass and Treble Clef Notes: Lines, Spaces and Mnemonics That Stick