Music Theory 1 (How many sharps/flats) Flashcards
C
No sharps or flats
G
1 sharp
F#
D
2 sharps
F# and C#
A
3 sharps
C#, F#, G#
E
4 sharps
F#, G#, A#, C#
B
5 sharps
C#, D#, F#, G#, A#
F#
6 sharps
F#, G#, A#, C#, D#, E#
C# (Db)
7 sharps
C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#
F
1 flat
Bb
Bb
2 flats
Bb and Eb
Eb
3 flats
Eb, Ab, Bb
Ab
4 flats
Ab, Bb, Db, Eb
Db
5 flats
Db, Eb, Gb, Ab, Bb
Gb
6 flats
Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb
Cb
7 flats
Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb
Mnemonic for order of sharps/flats
Sharps - Father Carl Goes Down And Ends Battle
or Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds, Fuckers
Flats - Battle Ends And Down Goes Carl’s Father
or BEAD Go Catch Fish
Find the number of sharps in a scale / See what key it is from the number of sharps
For sharps, all you have to do is take the tonic of the key and subtract a semitone (a half-step). This leaves you with the last note in the key that has a sharp. When we say last, we mean in the order of FCGDAEB. Here’s an example:
Sharps: For B-Major, we start with B and subtract a semitone, which lands us on A#. Now we cycle through the Circle starting at F. This tells us that B-Major has 5 sharps, which are F#, C#, G#, D#, and finally A#.
Find the number of flats in a scale / See what key it is from the number of flats
Take the tonic of the key and jump backwards a fifth on the Circle by moving counter-clockwise one step. This again will be the last note in the key that has a flat. For flats, we mean the last note in the order of BEADGCF. Here’s the example so this makes sense:
Flats: If we need to formulate the key signature for D-flat Major, we start with Db. We move backwards a fifth to Gb. According to BEADGCF, this key has five flats. Now we cycle around the Circle counter-clockwise starting at B and add E, A, D, and finally G. These are our five flats.
Circle of Fifths
From 12- Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds, (sharp) Fuckers (clock-wise)
From 5pm - BEAD Go Catch Fish, BbEbAbDb F# (anti-clockwise)
From 1pm - Go Catch Fish BEAD
