Questions tagged [key-signatures]
In musical notation, a set of sharp or flat symbols placed together at left side of each staff, effectively indicating the default pitch class set of the notes to follow.
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If I ever compose minor key music, for the original key, should I use A minor or C minor? [closed]
The A minor scale is the first and easiest minor key to learn in music since it has no sharps and flats just like its relative key called the C major scale but I've seen some composers like Grant ...
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Confusing clarinet key signature changes
I am reading through a miniature score book of the Vorspiel (Prelude) of Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner. It's a piece for orchestra, including two B-flat clarinets.
The clarinet ...
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WHy can you not play metal in Major keys?
Well you can but people are just going to think you are a Sum 41 cover band. It just seems like the Major key does not translate so well on electric guitar.
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What does it mean when one flat in the key signature is in parenthesis?
Can someone please help me make sense of why some flat symbols in the key signature are in parenthesis?
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In what key signature is singing written in, and how do I adapt for alto saxophone?
Note: I am not that good in general music theory but I will try to get my point across as best as I can.
I am currently in charge of writing/transposing the scores of a little hobby band.
I got the ...
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Why practice enharmonic equivalent keys as separate keys
In this video Victor Wooten explains that there are 30 keys that people need to practice in as opposed to 24. I found out that the 6 extra keys are actually redundant in the sense that each one of ...
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Horn & Trumpet and Key Signatures
In reading from 100 Orchestration Tips by Thomas Goss, I've come across a tip which I'm perfectly happy accepting, but (perhaps as I'm not a horn player nor a trumpet player) I do not understand.
34. ...
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Setting changed key signature before volta in Lilypond
I'm scoring Mozart's first piece, K1 - Minuet and Trio. The structure is essentially 4 repeats. After the first two repeats, the key signature changes from G Major to C Major.
I've split the right ...
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Modulating a minor 3rd [duplicate]
I want to modulate from a chorus that's in F# minor to a verse which is in D# minor.
Do you know a good (preferably short) chord progression/transition for this modulation?
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Is it ok to use irregular key signatures for neutral scales?
So for 24-TET neutral scales is it correct to use irregular key signatures? or do I need to use a minor with accidentals or something?
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Piano sight-reading confusion [duplicate]
everyone. I am a beginner pianist and I am to improve my technical and sight-reading skills. I have been sight-reading Primavera - Ludovico Einaudi for the past week and I came across something odd. ...
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"Wrong" key signature for a score in F dorian?
TL;DR I'm a bit confused on which key signature to use for a score in F dorian: 4 flats or 3 flats?
I wrote this arrangement of Mad World by Gary Jules back in 2012 using 3 flats as key signature. ...
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On Noteflight, I would like to change the staff (score) key signature. How do I do this without keeping absolute pitch? (It adds accidentals.)
Here is what it looks like before:
The key signature change only adds accidentals to the 'affected" notes. Thus, even a staff/score transposition does not solve my problem:
If the score were ...
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Blues progression: are those changes of key?
Suppose we have a simple blues in E with the following chord progression
E7 A7 B7 E7
and that we have to play
Over E7: Em penta scale
Over A7: mix of A major and A minor penta scale
Over B7: B ...
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How could you make a key change sound natural
I've been working on an orchestral piece for a while and I want to include a key change. For example, from Bb major into Eb major. How could one go about changing keys in a way that makes the music ...
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Understanding alternate key signature in Neumeyer's Hindemith analysis
Regarding David Neumeyer's The Music of Paul Hindemith:
As you will see in Example 3.12 (below), Neumeyer likes to show us the key without a key signature. While he indicates the key with a simple &...
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Piano, accidentals, and key signatures
say theres an f sharp in the key signature, and within a measure that note becomes natural. Do all F's preceding that one now become natural? or do they follow the suit of the key signature?
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Key Signature Only On First Line
This might be a dumb question (I’ve only been playing nearly 2 years), but if the key signature is only stated on the first line of the music, would that still apply to the rest of the music or not? I’...
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Is it a G flat or a G natural?
I've got a doubt here. Do I play G flat or G natural??
The accidental doesn't come in till the 3rd beat while the key signature does not have G flat, while the lyric has an accidental but at the ...
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Keys in Real Book vs. Real Vocal Book
I like seeing the lyrics to jazz standards, but I would also like to practice standards in their original/standard keys.
How many tunes in the Real Vocal Book "High Voice" (which has the ...
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Why is the key signature completely different from the actual notes?
Beginner here. So, I wanted to play this little phrase that is written, supposedly, in A major with 3 sharps on F, C and G. However, every G has a natural sign and there's a B and a E with sharps (no ...
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Can there be C# without F# in signature?
Could it happen, that there would be C# in the key signature but no F# ? (or in general any higher # without lower one.)
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Transposing key signatures - how to do so quickly?
I've been attempting to pick up my music theory after a 1 month hiatus, and I've stumbled across transposing key signatures - is there a quick method of figuring out the new key signature? Because ...
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Keyscales & Melodies
I'm fairly new to learning music theory at a basic level. I understand notes, triads, intervals and how to read sheet music but I am struggling to understand key scales and how and when they apply and ...
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Learning a new piece -- tips to make sure to get all the notes accurately from the start (piano)
As a self-learning piano beginner, I make tons of colored markings in the score of a new piece. First I must highlight all the notes that are included in the key signature so as not to forget they ...
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is it possible to read and play a piece that's written in Gflat (6 flats) by substituting those for one sharp, thus in key G?
I play Renaissance tenor recorder. I usually stick to Renaissance music, but like Rutter's "What Sweeter Music", that is in 6 flats!
Why write in 6 flats when 1 sharp would do? Can I play ...
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Korg Ms2000B backlighting screen
I have a Korg MS2000b WHICH I HAVEN'T USE IT for than 8 years.This morning I powered it on with a 15v.It turn on.I turned it off.And after one hour I turn it on again and the screen is backlighting ...
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How do you notate a blues scale?
I understand the concept of a blues scales and its structure. For example, the one I've been trying to write on sheet music is D Major blues. The scale contains the following: D E F F# A B
Now ...
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I am supposed to play an F#, but there is no sharp sign to suggest it [duplicate]
Given this piece of music:
A learning app tells me to play an F# as the 2nd and 3rd note. My concern is that there is no sharp symbol on the 1st space. I figured there is a sharp on the line ...
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Is there a word for when key signatures change every few bars, similar to how time signatures can change every few bars -> "multi-metric"?
Changing key signatures/keys but NOT SIMULTANEOUSLY
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Why does key-change from C to C♯ sound so exotic than C to D♭?
I downloaded and retuned Night Walk from Rhythm Tengoku from 12edo to 19edo, along with some tweaks (correction of key signatures, and correction of range of the glockenspiel)
The original piece goes ...
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Why is Bach Anh 118 "Bb Major" while Anh 119 is "G minor"? [duplicate]
Both have the same key signature, but Bach Anh 118 is "Minuet in Bb Major", while Anh 119 is "Polonaise in G minor". Why?
In general, how does one tell?
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Why do many musical pieces transition between relative major and minor scales?
I understand that they have the same notes so they "sound related".
Another factor that might be at play: perhaps it makes the life of the performer easier, not having to adjust back and ...
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Will two versions of a song, in the same key, fit together if supporting chords differ?
I get that the title is vague, but that's kind of the problem. Basically, I've learned a jazzy version of the song "Heart and Soul" on the piano (you know, the one everyone learns to play ...
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Is it possible to have sharp/flat notes in a music piece composed in the key of "A minor"?
When I was reading sheet music of Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 24 in A minor, I saw some sharp and flat notes.
This raised some questions for me. Based on my researches, I also found out that the ...
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What key does the chord progression E, D, C#, B, E, D, C#, G belong to?
I noticed while playing guitar recently that the chords E, D, C#, B, and then E, D, C#, G sound good together although to my knowledge those chords can’t be in the same key because of the E and the C#....
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Whcih key is Pure Shores in C# or C# Mixolyain [closed]
I was reading the Wikipedia article about the All Saints song Pure Shores
It said the chord sequence is in the "key of C# mixolydian" - C# - D#m - B - F# - (I get that C# mixolydian is the ...
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same song in B major and B minor
This song I'm learning to play-Flower Dance by DJ Okawari-is in B minor in one version and B major in another version. I don't know much at all about transposing and changing a song from a different ...
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B flat in B flat major scale [duplicate]
I was looking at playing Megalovania and came across a B flat on measure 41. Normally, I would play a B flat, but since it it is already a B flat from the B flat major chord, I am super confused. Is ...
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Dvorak's Humoresque No7 in G♭ Major - is the key signature part of the joke?
This week's assignment from my violin teacher is Dvorak's Humoresque No7. As I'm a "good beginner" (started playing 17 months ago) he gave me the easier G transposition rather than the ...
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Pros and Cons of playing oversimplified classical music pieces?
Most easy classical music pieces simplified for beginners have different key signatures from the original. What are the pros and cons (especially) of playing them before playing the original scores ...
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How do people become proficient at sight-reading in keys where there is no material in those keys suitable for their sight-reading level?
On a mission to improve my piano sight-reading, I've been systematically working my way through all major and minor keys, 'living' in a given key for a few weeks before moving to the next.
Whilst ...
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Is it better to write music in F♯ Major or in G♭ Major?
Is it better to write music in F♯ Major or in G♭ Major? Seeing as they are enharmonic (in our 12-tone musical system), what are the advantages / disadvantages of writing in either, or should it be ...
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Chords available in a certain Key?
I am a total beginner here so please bear with me.
When you have a certain key, let's take C, we have
C D E F G A B C
Looking at the wheel of fifths, my available chords are
F C G major
D A E ...
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How should I notate an irregular key signature?
I want to have a key signature that has only the flats of Bb & Gb (I’m working with a Bb mode)
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Can't hear the tonic
If I try to do a harmonic analysis of a song, and try to find which key a (part of a) song is, I fail a lot. I try to listen which chord feels like 'home', but that is not so clear to me...
Example: ...
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How many marks will I lose for a flat in the wrong place in the key signature in a grade 5 theory exam [closed]
I did the grade 5 theory exam yesterday. Completely forgot where to place the flats in the key signature for a question where I had to write a scale out. For Db major in bass clef, I put the Gb in the ...
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Which key signature contains C sharp with B natural , E natural and F natural?
I am analyzing a Binary dance in 3/4 time by J.C.F. Fischer for an exam in L9 Harmony Royal Conservatory. The start key is F major. Modulates briefly to B flat major and C major. Then a chord A major ...
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What is this note? [duplicate]
This is in key of F# major or D# minor, there is a D# in this key, but the D# in this picture has a double sharp sign beside it, so is it a D#(##) (which is an F)?
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How to sight read piano sheet faster in any key?
So I learned this trick from youtube that you can read notes relatively.
I can see that the first 2 notes in this piece is a G4, instead of figuring out what the third note is, I just press the key a ...
user64861