Key signature
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line. If the piece contains a section in a different key, the new key signature is placed at the beginning of that section.
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- enIn Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line. If the piece contains a section in a different key, the new key signature is placed at the beginning of that section.
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- enIn Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line. If the piece contains a section in a different key, the new key signature is placed at the beginning of that section. In a key signature, a sharp or flat symbol on a line or space of the staff indicates that the note represented by that line or space is to be played a semitone higher (sharp) or lower (flat) than it would otherwise be played. This applies through the end of the piece or until another key signature is indicated. Each symbol applies to all notes in the same pitch class—for example, a flat on the third line of the treble staff (as in the diagram) indicates that all notes appearing as Bs are played as B-flats. This convention was not universal until the late Baroque and early Classical period—music published in the 1720s and 1730s may have key signatures showing sharps or flats in both octaves for notes which fall within the staff. Most of this article addresses key signatures that represent the diatonic keys of Western music. These contain either flats or sharps, but not both, and the different key signatures add flats or sharps according to the order shown in the circle of fifths. Each major and minor key has an associated key signature, showing up to seven flats or seven sharps, that indicates the notes used in its scale. Music was sometimes notated with a key signature that did not match its key in this way—this can be seen in some Baroque pieces, or transcriptions of traditional modal folk tunes.
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- Key signature
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- enKey signature
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- Accidental (music)
- A-flat major
- A-flat minor
- A major
- A minor
- A-sharp minor
- Atonality
- Barline
- Baroque music
- Béla Bartók
- B-flat major
- B-flat minor
- B major
- B minor
- Category:Musical notation
- C-flat major
- Circle of fifths
- Classical period (music)
- Clef
- C major
- C minor
- Common practice period
- C-sharp major
- C-sharp minor
- D-flat major
- Diatonic
- Diatonic scale
- D major
- D minor
- Dorian mode
- Double flat
- Double sharp
- D-sharp minor
- E-flat major
- E-flat minor
- E major
- E minor
- File:A-flat-major f-minor.svg
- File:A-major f-sharp-minor.svg
- File:B-flat-major g-minor.svg
- File:B-major g-sharp-minor.svg
- File:C-flat-major a-flat-minor.svg
- File:Circle of fifths deluxe 4.svg
- File:C-sharp-major a-sharp-minor.svg
- File:D-flat-major b-flat-minor.svg
- File:D Freygish Noteworthy Composer.png
- File:D-major b-minor.svg
- File:Earlykeysig.png
- File:E-flat-major c-minor.svg
- File:E-major c-sharp-minor.svg
- File:F-major d-minor.svg
- File:F-sharp-major d-sharp-minor.svg
- File:G-flat-major e-flat-minor.svg
- File:G-major e-minor.svg
- File:GottesZeit.png
- File:Ks1.gif
- File:Ks2.gif
- File:Natural key signature example.png
- File:Treble clef with empty staff.svg
- Flat (music)
- F major
- F minor
- Frederic Rzewski
- F-sharp major
- F-sharp minor
- F♯ (musical note)
- G-flat major
- G major
- G minor
- Great Highland Bagpipe
- G-sharp minor
- György Ligeti
- Iberia (Albéniz)
- Isaac Albéniz
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Josquin des Prez
- Key (music)
- Key signature names and translations
- Klezmer
- Lydian mode
- major
- Major and minor
- Major scale
- Medieval music
- Mikrokosmos (Béla Bartók)
- Minor key
- Minor scale
- Minor third
- Modulation (music)
- Musical mode
- Musical notation
- Music notation
- Natural (music)
- Note (music)
- Octatonic scale
- Ottorino Respighi
- Parallel key
- Perfect fifth
- Perfect fourth
- Phrygian dominant scale
- Piano Sonata (Bartók)
- Pierre de La Rue
- Pines of Rome
- Pitch class
- Polytonal
- Relative key
- Scale degree
- Semitone
- Sergei Prokofiev
- Sharp (music)
- Staff (music)
- Theoretical key
- Timpani
- Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 538
- Tonality
- Tonic (music)
- Transposing instrument
- Universal key
- Western culture
- SameAs
- 4zmbH
- Antaŭsigno (muziko)
- Armadura (música)
- Armadura (música)
- Armadura (música)
- Armadura (música)
- Armatura (musica)
- Armatûra (muzîk)
- Armure (musique)
- Dấu hóa
- Förtecken
- Fortegn (musik)
- Gako-armadura
- Key signature
- m.04fj3
- Predznaci uz ključ
- Předznamenání
- Predznamenanie
- Q845391
- Voortekening
- Vorzeichen (Musik)
- Võtmemärk
- Znaki przykluczowe
- Арматура (музика)
- Ключевые знаки
- Ключові знаки
- Предзнаци уз кључ
- دليل مقام
- سرکلید
- เครื่องหมายตั้งบันไดเสียง
- 調号
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- 조표 (음악)
- Subject
- Category:Musical notation
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- Key signature?oldid=1114063004&ns=0
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- 17394
- Wikipage revision ID
- 1114063004
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