(MNS) Minor Key Signature Lesson

Minor Key Signatures

Treble Clef

As we learned in a previous module, a key signature is a collection of every accidental found in a scale.

C Minor Scale

To demonstrate minor key signatures, we will use the key of C Minor, which has three flats. All minor key signatures are based on the natural form of the minor scale.

C Minor Scale with Key Signature

Instead of writing a flat next to every B, E, and A; we can simply add a key signature to the beginning of the measure.

There can be up to 7 flats in minor key signatures, just as there were in the major key signatures. You can remember the order of flats in the key signature by memorizing these phrases: 'Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father' or the word BEAD and then Good Corn Flakes.

F# minor scale

Next, we will use the f# minor scale, which has 3 sharps. Notice how the letter name for this scale is in small case. All minor scales should be identified by small case letters.

F# Minor scale with key signature

Instead of writing a sharp next to every F, C, and G, we can simply add a key signature to the beginning of the measure as we did with the flats.

There can be up to 7 sharps in minor key signatures, just as there were with the major key signatures. You can remember the order of sharps in the key signature by memorizing these phrases: 'Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle' or 'Francis Can Go Down And Eat Breakfast".

Minor Key Signature Examples

30 different key signatures exist (15 for major scales and 15 for minor scales).

In music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures. A pair of major and minor scales sharing the same key signature are said to be in a relative relationship. The relative minor of a particular major key, or the relative major of a minor key, is the key which has the same key signature but a different tonic; this is as opposed to parallel minor or major, which shares the same tonic name but have different key signatures.

You can easily determine minor key signatures based off major key signatures by taking the major key signature note name and going down three half-steps (minor 3rd). This will be the name of its relative minor; for example, a minor is three half-steps (minor 3rd) below its relative major, C Major.

G major and e minor both have a single sharp in their key signature at F ♯ ; therefore, e minor is the relative minor of G major, and conversely G major is the relative major of e minor. The tonic of the relative minor is the sixth scale degree of the major scale, while the tonic of the relative major is the third degree of the minor scale. The relative relationship may be visualized through the circle of fifths.

C major and c minor would be parallel keys because they have same note name but different key signatures (no sharps/flats as opposed to 3 flats).

A complete list of relative minor/major pairs in order of the circle of fifths is:

Key signature Major key Minor key Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb Cb major Ab minor Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb Gb major Eb minor Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb Db major Bb minor Bb, Eb, Ab, Db Ab major F minor Bb, Eb, Ab Eb major C minor Bb, Eb Bb major G minor Bb F major D minor C major A minor F# G major E minor F#, C# D major B minor F#, C#, G# A major F# minor F#, C#, G#, D# E major C# minor F#, C#, G#, D#, A# B major G# minor F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E# F# major D# minor F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B# C# major A# minor

Here is the Circleof-5ths one again and you can see the minor keys listed in the inner circle.

The only two keys you must memorize are C Major and F Major. Use the rules in blue below to find the name of the key for all of the other key signatures. Major keys are on the outside of the circle, minor keys are on the inside. The key signatures on a staff are shown beside each key. Here is a quick way to remember key signatures: Remember a major scale has seven different notes, and there are seven sharps and flats. C# Major is C Major with all notes raised, so C# major has 7 sharps. Fe major is F major with all notes raised, so in F# major all notes have a sharp except the Bb which is raised to B natural. That is six sharps! A major has three sharps, so lower everything a half step to find Ab major. Ab major has three natural notes and four flats. Key signatures with flats: The name of the key is the next to last flat. Key signatures with sharps: The name of the key is a half step up from the last sharp.

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