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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.
The flat symbol (♭) is used in two ways: It is placed in key signatures to mark lines whose notes are flattened throughout that section of music; it may also be an "accidental" that precedes an individual note and indicates that the note should be lowered temporarily, until the following bar line.
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.
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 ...
A natural is used to cancel the effect of a flat or sharp. This system of accidentals operates in conjunction with the key signature, whose effect continues throughout an entire piece, or until another key signature is indicated. An accidental can also be used to cancel a previous accidental or reinstate the flats or sharps of the key signature.
A musical passage notated as flats. The same passage notated as sharps, requiring fewer canceling natural signs. Sets of notes that involve pitch relationships — scales, key signatures, or intervals, [1] for example — can also be referred to as enharmonic (e.g., the keys of C ♯ major and D ♭ major contain identical pitches and are therefore enharmonic).
In the music notation program Lilypond, naturals are used at a key signature change to cancel a flat or sharp from the previous key signature, but are not shown when the flat or sharp changes to double flat or double sharp. The following shows key changes from A flat major to F flat major to G flat major in Lilypond.
Following the clef, the key signature is a group of 0 to 7 sharp or flat signs placed on the staff to indicate the key of the piece or song by specifying that certain notes are sharp or flat throughout the piece, unless otherwise indicated with accidentals added before certain notes.