How Do You Memorize Music Key Signatures With Sharps?
All music students must become comfortable with referring to the key signature of a piece to determine what key it is in. A skilled musician will then play the piece while thinking in terms of the given key, rather than “reinvent the wheel” and constantly look to see which notes are to be sharped. This article shows you how to work with key signatures that involve sharps, including how to identify the given key, and how to properly notate the key signature. The companion article (see Resources) does this for key signatures with flats. This article assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of music theory. We’ll start with a key signature with no sharps or flats. It must be memorized that such a key signature represents the key of C Major. The corresponding minor key is always a minor third (three half steps) lower, which in this case takes us to A Minor. To form the first key signature involving sharps, it must be memorized that the first sharp to add is F#, and furthermore, th
