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Key Signatures & Circle of Fifths Cheat Sheet
A printable reference covering key signatures, major and minor keys, sharps, flats, relative keys, and the circle of fifths for grades 6-12.
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Key signatures tell musicians which notes are usually sharp or flat throughout a piece of music. This cheat sheet helps students quickly identify major and minor keys, read accidentals correctly, and understand how keys are related. It is useful for sight-reading, composing, transposing, and preparing for theory tests. The circle of fifths organizes keys in a pattern that moves by perfect fifths. Moving clockwise adds sharps, and moving counterclockwise adds flats. Relative major and minor keys share the same key signature, and the order of sharps and flats helps students name keys accurately.
Key Facts
- The order of sharps is F, C, G, D, A, E, B.
- The order of flats is B, E, A, D, G, C, F.
- In sharp keys, the major key is one half step above the last sharp in the key signature.
- In flat keys, the major key is the second-to-last flat in the key signature, except F major has one flat.
- C major and A minor have no sharps and no flats.
- A relative minor key starts on the note a minor third below its relative major key.
- Moving clockwise on the circle of fifths adds one sharp each step: C, G, D, A, E, B, F sharp, C sharp.
- Moving counterclockwise on the circle of fifths adds one flat each step: C, F, B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, C flat.
Vocabulary
- Key Signature
- A set of sharps or flats placed at the beginning of a staff to show which notes are altered throughout the music.
- Circle of Fifths
- A diagram that shows major and minor keys arranged by perfect fifths and their key signatures.
- Sharp
- A symbol that raises a note by one half step.
- Flat
- A symbol that lowers a note by one half step.
- Relative Minor
- A minor key that shares the same key signature as a major key but starts on a different tonic.
- Tonic
- The main note of a key and the note that gives the key its name.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using the last flat to name a flat key is wrong because the major key is usually the second-to-last flat.
- Forgetting the exception for F major is wrong because F major has one flat, B flat, and has no second-to-last flat.
- Mixing up the order of sharps and flats leads to incorrect key signatures because sharps and flats are added in fixed orders.
- Calling relative major and minor keys the same key is wrong because they share a key signature but have different tonics and sound qualities.
- Adding accidentals only to one octave is wrong because a key signature applies to that note name in every octave unless changed by another accidental.
Practice Questions
- 1 A key signature has three sharps: F sharp, C sharp, and G sharp. What major key is it?
- 2 A key signature has four flats: B flat, E flat, A flat, and D flat. What major key is it?
- 3 What is the relative minor of C major, and how many sharps or flats does it have?
- 4 Explain why the circle of fifths is useful for understanding how closely related two keys are.