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In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line. If the piece contains a section in a different key, the new ...
A key signature indicates the prevailing key of the music and eliminates the need to use accidentals for the notes that are always flat or sharp in that key. A key signature with no flats or sharps generally indicates the key of C major or A minor, but can also indicate that pitches will be notated with accidentals as required. The key ...
When a musical key or key signature is referred to in a language other than English, that language may use the usual notation used in English (namely the letters A to G, along with translations of the words sharp, flat, major and minor in that language): languages which use the English system include Irish, Welsh, Hindi, Japanese (based on katakana in iroha order), Korean (based on hangul in ...
The key signature defines the pitch of "1". So 1=C means "C major". Minor keys are based on the natural minor or the Aeolian mode, and the key signature defines the pitch of "6" of the minor key's relative major. 6=A can be used to refer to A minor, the tonic of which is written as 6.
The key signatures associated with those pitches change accordingly: the key of G has one sharp, the key of D has 2 sharps, and so on. Proceeding counterclockwise from the top of the circle, the notes change by descending fifths and the key signatures change accordingly: the key of F has one flat, the key of B ♭ has 2 flats
Following the key signature is the time signature. The time signature typically consists of two numbers, with one of the most common being 4 4. The top "4" indicates that there are four beats per measure (also called bar). The bottom "4" indicates that each of those beats are quarter notes.
The time signature indicates the meter of a musical movement at the bar level. In a music score the time signature appears as two stacked numerals, such as 44 (spoken as four–four time), or a time symbol, such as (spoken as common time). It immediately follows the key signature (or if there is no key signature, the clef symbol).
Dots above or below a numeral indicate the octave of the note it represents. Key signatures, barlines, and time signatures are also employed. Many symbols from Western standard notation, such as bar lines, time signatures, accidentals, tie and slur, and the expression markings are also used.