The Order of Sharps and Flats

The Order of Sharps and Flats

How we navigate through a key signature

Sharps and Flats always appear in your key signature in the same order.

• If you have 1 sharp it will ALWAYS be F#

• If you have 1 flat it will ALWAYS be Bb

Sharps will always appear in your key signature cumulatively.

• If you have 1 sharp it will always be F#.

• If you have 2 sharps they will always be F# and C#.

• If you have 3 sharps they will always be F#, C#, and G#.

• etc.

Flats will always appear in your key signature cumulatively as well.

• If you have 1 flat it will always be Bb.

• If you have 2 flats they will always be Bb and Eb.

• If you have 3 flats they will always be Bb, Eb, and Ab.

• etc.

Sharps will always appear in this order:

F C G D A E B

• 1# F

• 2# F C

• 3# F C G

• 4# F C G D

• 5# F C G D A

• 6# F C G D A E

• 7# F C G D A E B

F C G D A E B

Mnemonics for Sharps

Funky Cats Go Dancing At Every Ball

Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Birds

Multiple Choice

Which mnemonic will help you remember the order of the sharps?

• Funny Birds Go Eat Cows At Dance

• Cats Do Fly And Grow Big Elephants

• Funky Cats Go Dancing At Every Ball

• Big Goats Call Everyone At Fancy Dance

Flats will always appear in this order:

B E A D G C F

• 1b B

• 2b B E

• 3b B E A

• 4b B E A D

• 5b B E A D G

• 6b B E A D G C

• 7b B E A D G C F

B E A D G C F

Mnemonics for Flats

BEAD Goats Can Fly

BEAD Greatest Common Factor

Bread Eaten After Dinner Gets Cold Fast

Multiple Choice

Which mnemonic will help you remember the order of the flats?

• Bread Eaten Every Day Can Fight Elephants

• BEAD Goats Can Fly

• Funky Cats Go Dancing At Every Ball

The Order of Flats is the Order of Sharps in reverse!

#s $\rightarrow$  
F C G D A E B 
       $\leftarrow$  bs

You can figure out what key you're in by looking at the key signature.

• In a sharp key you can figure out what MAJOR KEY you're in by finding the last sharp (the one written furthest to the right),

• You will be in the MAJOR KEY one half step above that note.

• Ex. If the last sharp is C# you will be in the key of D Major because D is one half step above C#.

Multiple Choice

If you have one sharp in your key signature, what Major Key are you in?

• F# Major

• G Major

• A Major

• B# Major

You can also figure out what key you are in by the flats in your key signature.

• Look for the penultimate flat (the second to last flat).

• The name of the penultimate flat will tell you what Major Key you are in.

• Ex. If you have three flats Bb, Eb, and Ab the penultimate flat would be Eb and therefore you would be in Eb Major.

Multiple Choice

If you have four flats in your key signature, what Major key are you in?

• Bb Major

• Dd Major

• Ab Major

• Cb Major

The circle of fifths shows us how the keys are all related.

As the root of the key goes up a Perfect Fifth a sharp is added to the key signature.

As the root of the key goes down a fourth a flat is added to the key signature.