


What defines the key, is that you're using the 7 notes C,D,E,F,G,A,B. The key signature for C major is no marks, because you never play any sharps or flats in that key.Ĭonsider the key of C major.The key signature for D major is a sharp sign at F and another at C - because in D major you never play F or C, but you do play F# and C#.All of these patterns are just as valid on other instruments - but the pattern of black and white notes on a piano make it easier to understand.Ī key signature is a way of communicating which key you are using, by telling the reader which notes to sharpen or flatten. If you can't get at a piano or a keyboard, a computer simulation is fine. A piano keyboard is laid out according to that major key pattern - that's why some white piano keys have black piano keys between them, and some do not. For example:Ī major key is defined by the number of semitones between steps.Ĭounting up the whole scale of C major in this way, you get 2,2,1,2,2,2,1.Ī minor key is defined by a different pattern of semitone steps: 2,1,2,2,2,1,2Īn easy way to understand this is by trying things out at a piano. In traditional Western music - the musical tradition in which "major" and "minor" makes sense - a key usually consists of 7 notes out of the 12 notes in an octave.

a choice of which set of notes are available to be played.When you say "Why are the key signatures in the major key like this", you are misusing the words "key signature", so let's start by explaining that.
