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Music vocabulary · Notation and Reading Music

Key signature

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈkiː ˌsɪɡnətʃər/nounCore term

In music, key signature means: The group of sharps or flats written at the start of every staff, just after the clef, that shows the key of the piece and which notes are always raised or lowered.

In Turkish: donanım, ton donanımı

How it is used

Used when reading and writing notation. You check, read or change the key signature; a piece can have 'a key signature of three flats' or 'no sharps or flats'. Students learn key signatures with the circle of fifths.

Example sentences

  1. Check the key signature before you start; this piece has four sharps.

  2. A key signature with one flat means F major or D minor.

Common collocations

  • read the key signature
  • change of key signature
  • circle of fifths
  • key signature with two flats
  • keyThe group of notes and chords that a piece is mainly built on, centred on one home note. A song in the key of G major keeps returning to G as its point of rest.
  • sharpThe symbol ♯ that raises a note by a semitone, or a note raised in this way. As an adjective, it also describes a note sung or played slightly too high.
  • flatThe symbol ♭ that lowers a note by a semitone, or a note lowered in this way. As an adjective, it also describes a note sung or played slightly too low.
  • clefThe symbol at the start of a staff that fixes the pitch of the lines and spaces. The most common are the treble (G) clef and the bass (F) clef.
  • staffThe set of five horizontal lines and four spaces on which notes are written. A note's position on the staff shows its pitch.

More terms: Notation and Reading Music

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