Reading key signatures
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On your exam, you will be asked to identify the key signature of the piece in
front of you.
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The key signature at the beginning of the piece lets us know what key the
piece is in, and what sharps or flats to play.
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Remember: every key signature has a major and a minor scale that uses it.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G20foMzvczc
Reading key signatures
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Find the major key signature by:
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Sharps: look one note above the last sharp
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Flats: look at the second last flat in the signature
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Find the minor key (relative minor) by going down two steps. Eg. G majorE minor.
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Check it is not in a minor key by looking at the first and last note of the
piece.
Reading key signatures

Figure out the two keys that this key signature shows:
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__ major, and __ minor.
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How do we tell which key its in?
Theory – book 1
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Notes are written on the musical staff (or stave) and their position on the
staff lets us know what letter it is.

In music, every note is allocated a letter from A-G which then repeats.
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Practice writing the rhythms you learned in the first chapter on the staff
when you work through chapter 2.
Theory – book 2
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Tetrachord is a scary word – but all it means is that the last four notes (the
last half) of a scale is the beginning of another scale.
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If we look at the last four notes of a C scale, those four notes are actually the
beginning of the G scale.
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To make things even more intertwined, C-G is the first step in the circle of
fifths.
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PS. Whenever the book asks you to write a minor scale, write a major
scale instead. We will go through minor scales later on in the term.
Theory – book 3
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Every note on the scale has a different name:
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1 – tonic
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2 – supertonic
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3 – mediant
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4 – subdominant
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5 – dominant
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6 – submediant
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7- subtonic
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Your theory book will ask you to write scales, identifying the different note types.
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PS. Whenever the book asks you to write a minor scale, write a major scale
instead. We will go through minor scales later on in the term.