Best way to memorize key signatures?

[funkybass]

I'm learning to read music and the two biggest hurdles have been rhythms and knowing which notes are sharp or flat in the key. Anyone know a good way to memorize this?

[GaryM]

The mnemonics I was taught for the order of sharps and flat were:

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle - for sharps
Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father - for flats

[Lurker79]

Circle of fourths and fifths all day long. One day it will click, and you'll think "damnit, this is what they're talking about??? Sharps are fifths, flats are fourths.

[So Low Bass]

BEAD for flats.

[AsianVoodoo]

Circle of Fifths: Fat Cows Go Driving After Eating Breakfast. Easiest way to learn it.

[MalcolmAmos]

Memory pegs:
See God Destroy All Earth By F#irey C#haos. Order of the scales with sharps.
Fat cats go down alleys eating birds. Order of the sharps.
Farmer brown eats apple dumplings greasily cooked. Order of the scales with flats.
The key signature is showing three sharps. What scale has three sharps? C has none, G has one, D has two, A has three. Which sharps? Fat = F#, Cat = C# and Go = G# so the A major scale has three sharps, F#, C# and G#.

Here is the one I use. The actual words do not matter, which ever one you like best.

Remember the key signature gives you two scales. The Major and the relative minor, i.e. C Major or A minor. Both have the same notes and same chords. You tell which one by how the chords are used in the song. If the progression centers around the major chords your major, however, if they center around the minor, your minor.
Happy trails.

[mr.hughes]

Easiest for me is to learn the order of the key signatures like a phone number - so for sharps its G D A E B F# C#. So if you see one sharp it's G Major, you see 4 sharps, it's E Major, etc.

Same for flats: F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb. You see one flat - it's F Major, you see 4 flats, it's Ab major.

As for learning which notes are sharpened/flattened - I found that that part is best learnt separately and not part of a sight-reading exercise. So, going round the cycle like Lurker79 said before is a great way to see what is what in each key. Start on C, call out each note name as you play it and figure out/take note of which notes are flattened/sharpened. Do that for every key and it'll sink in eventually.

[caeman]

Short answer: Use them.

You can sit and try to memorize mnemonics, but for me, it was most helpful to simply find a song in that key and use it.

[Billnc]

Memorise F has one flat, after that 2nd to last flat is key.
1/2 Step above last sharp is the key.

[Beginner Bass]

Work on them one at a time.

[llatikcuf]

Originally Posted by Billnc

Memorise F has one flat, after that 2nd to last flat is key.
1/2 Step above last sharp is the key.

That's the simple way we learned it in HS band but I had forgotten - thanks Billnc.

[the_hook]

I tried to memorize them but found I still have to write them out.

Easiest way for me at this early point is to start with the C major scale, take the 5th note and start a new scale (so G).

The 7th note of that scale is F, which is now sharp. The 5th in the G scale is D, so you keep F#, take the 7th note which is C (now C#). The 5th in the D scale is A, and so on. G has F#, D has F# and C#, A has F#, C#, and G#, and on it goes.

C D E F G A B C # of sharps
G A B C D E F# G 1
D E F# G A B C# D 2

Circle of 4ths is different, the 4th note becomes the flatted note, and you start the scale with that. Start with C, 4th is F, F scale will have B as Bb, start the next scale with Bb, 4th note is E, now Eb. You notice when you write them all out, they are exactly the opposite of the sharp keys and scales.

C D E F G A B C # of flats
F G A Bb C D E F 1
Bb C D Eb F G A Bb 2

[JTE]

Don't even try to memorize them. If you learn what they mean, you don't have to memorize them. All these mnemonic devices cover up that you need to know how to determine the fourth of C anyway. So, just learn that C has no sharps or flats, and as you cycle through the circle of fourths you add a flat. So Bb is the fourth of F, which is the fourth of C- hence Bb is the one with 2 flats.

Ultimately you gotta KNOW the why. Besides, knowing that Eb has three flats isn't much use if you don't know what notes they are. So you can learn another mnemonic (or learn to keep track of when you use the same mnemonic but start at one point instead of another), OR you can actually learn music.

Instead of memorizing key signatures, really learn the major scale. If you own W W H W W W H and that C has no sharps or flats, YOU can figure out the notes in any key. If you need to know the key from a written key signature that's easy. Look at the key signature. If it's sharps, your key is a half-step above the last sharp. If you see two sharps, the first is F and the second is C. That's the key of D; a half-step above the C#. For flats it's the next to last flat. Eb has three flats, in order they're Bb, Eb, and Ab. The next to last is Eb, your key.

Don't worry about memorizing, focus on learning the why and how. Then you'll remember the stuff that you use all the time, and will be able to derive the stuff you don't use as often.

John

[seventhson]

Make flash cards. It's like the multiplication table. You just gotta memorize them until they become automatic. Those mnemonics are harder than memorization imo, but whatever helps.

[esoomssab]

Speaking of Flash cards - follow this link. http://www.musictheory.net/exercises/keysig/d999y

It will drill you on major key signatures in both bass and treble clef - if you want to adjust it so that it doesn't do all of them, you can go to musictheory.net - click on exercises - and then key signature, and go from there. Tons of great info and trainers on that site.

[M0ses]

Don't make flash cards or mnemonics. Just PLAY the darn things. Go through the circle of fourths in order. Start on C, then figure in your head what the fourth of that is, and you know that that has one flat. Play that. Figure out the fourth. Play it. Do this as many times as it takes until you can easily identify key or signature, and play it. Then, play them in random orders just to make sure, until you can instantly spit it out. It is NOT that hard, except in the beginning, but it goes much faster than you'd think.
After 7 years of playing and reading music on a regular basis, I still could never identify a key by number of flats or name until my teacher forced me to do this.

If you've done that, congratulations, you're miles ahead of the vast majority of all musicians, and well on your way to becoming someone who knows what they're doing.

And of course once you've done that with major keys, move on to minors, and mix in majors, too, to keep in practice.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by seventhson

You just gotta memorize them until they become automatic.

I don't think you do have to memorize them. That's the point- if you KNOW the background you'll get to where the keys you use all the time are remembered without specific memorization. And the keys you don't use, you'll always be able to get to.

Same with multiplication tables. LEARN what multiplication is, and you won't need to memorize that 9X9 is 81.

I was a problem student in 4th grade, BTW...

John

[Hoover]

How the hell did I manage to get two degrees in music without ever hearing a single one of those mnemonic devices?!?!? I've been deprived, some of those are hysterical!

[lsabina]

Remember that the order of flats and sharps (as appearing in a key signature) are opposite to each other. Therefore, a saying, such as "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle" (for sharps) is worthwhile, because its retrograde (for flats)--Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father--also makes some sort of language sense (unlike the Fat Cows...etc.).

[derekd]

I was required to memorize them around the circle in 4ths, since the instrument is tuned in 4ths. Pretty simple really.

Start with C (no #'s or b's), and as you go around you add a b to the 4th note in the scale until you get to the bottom. Going to B, they are all #'s, except the 4th note again. So with the sharp keys, you take away the sharp from the 4th note in the scale.

Pretty simple. Had to recited them in order around the circle in 45 seconds or less. Then be able to recite major and minor triads around the circle. Does wonders for your ability to create on the fly, and transpose. Took me about a week to get it down. Using it in tunes really helps reinforce it. YMMV