How many major keys?

[funkybass]

Depending on which book or site you read you'll find 12 or 15. I've always said 15 major keys. What do you think?

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Depending on which book or site you read you'll find 12 or 15. I've always said 15 major keys. What do you think?

There are 15 major scale keys, however, three of them contain the same notes as other keys leaving us 12 usable major key/scales. The B and Cb are the same. We normally use B. Five sharps are easier than seven flats. C# and Db are the same. We use Db five flats are easier than seven sharps. Then F# and Gb are the same and here one has six sharps and the other has six flats - your choice.

Ever wondered why the circle gets crowded at the bottom? The sharps wrap around 6:00 O'clock as there are 7 of them. Flats do the same thing as there are 7 of them also. So the bottom of the circle gets crowded.