Teaching key signatures

[DOOMGUYplaystbn]

Hey all. I've recently taken on a number of beginner students (think 5th grade - 7th grade), and I'm having to explain the concepts of key signatures for students that are seeing them for the first time. Does anyone have any pointers on how to distill the complexity of it down for a younger person? I remember struggling with the concept for a long time when I was their age, and I want to make it as digestible as possible for them without overwhelming them. Similarly, if you guys can point me in the direction of any teaching materials that goes into this, that would also be great. Thanks!

[jthomas105]

Key signature chant to start with:

Key of C - no sharps, no flats

Key of F - 1 flat, Bb

Key of Bb - 2 flats, Bb, Eb

Key of Eb - 3 flats, Bb, Eb, Ab

Key of Ab - 4 flats, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db


These first 5 will be enough for younger players, add Db and Gb when you are adding scales. Sharp keyed scales can be added when they are ready. Play the different scales for them to show that they all have the same sound pattern. Play a Bb scale for them correctly, then play without the Eb, the sound pattern of a major scale will be wrong because you are using the key signature for the F major scale. You can do this any number of ways to show right and wrong sound patterns using correct and wrong keys signatures. Play familiar songs (happy birthday, etc.) for them with right and wrong key signatures to demonstrate why correct key signatures must be used because if they are not using the wrong key signature they are playing wrong notes like giving the wrong answers on a math test.

[tbdana]

Don't folks teach the Circle of 5ths anymore? That's how I learned key signatures. But that was back when the earth's crust was still cooling, so...

[bitbckt]

Folks do still teach Circles of Fifths/Fourths, but not usually that young. 7th grade (~12 years old) is commonly the earliest those terms/relationships are introduced to band students.

[ghmerrill]

I'm all for mnemonics, but learning half a dozen key signatures is probably much more easily done (especially for the young) by direct memorization than by memorizing something even more complex that doesn't rhyme or have poetic meter. And kids will memorize all kinds of things without blinking an eye.

[Wilktone]

For the order of the accidentals in the key signatures there is a mnemonic I like. The order of the flats are:

Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’s Father.

For the sharps:

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.

To understand what key you’re in while looking at a key signature I will usually point out that if it’s a key signature with flats the second to last flat is the major key. A sharp key signature you need to go a half step up from the last sharp. Not as clean as the mnemonic, but it gets the job done.

I’ll bet that if we poke around on YouTube someone has put together something already that is what you’re looking for too. There’s a lot of well done music theory there.

Dave

[Wilktone]

First one I found.

[ghmerrill]

Maybe we've all missed the point here? ...

I'm having to explain the concepts of key signatures for students that are seeing them for the first time. I remember struggling with the concept for a long time when I was their age,

Maybe it's not about learning the key signatures themselves, but about what a key signature is and why they're used? Maybe? In that case, a restatement of the original query with more detail might be useful. But then I think that video doesn't do a bad job.

[Ozzlefinch]

The Camelot wheel was the only thing that finally worked for me. It helps to see visually the relationships.

[harrisonreed]

Does anyone have any pointers on how to distill the complexity of it down for a younger person?

Just say it's a way to keep the clutter down. Would you rather all these flats written every time, or just write them in the margins once per staff?

[AndrewMeronek]

I think that having students learn the piano key layout simplifies the key signature thing and sharps and flats more generally.

[DOOMGUYplaystbn]

Maybe we've all missed the point here? ...

I'm having to explain the concepts of key signatures for students that are seeing them for the first time. I remember struggling with the concept for a long time when I was their age,

Maybe it's not about learning the key signatures themselves, but about what a key signature is and why they're used? Maybe? In that case, a restatement of the original query with more detail might be useful. But then I think that video doesn't do a bad job.

This is exactly what I meant. I apologize for the confusion - circle of 5ths is a wonderful way to learn key signatures, but only if you understand what a key signature is and, by proxy, understand what the purpose is of organizing different sounding notes in various fashions.

The reason I find this particular problem interesting: I find that young trombone players are wonderful at the usual flat key signatures, perhaps a few sharp keys as well, but during a piece of music they are unable to reflexively adapt to a key change, or understand how notes that are marked as "accidental", or outside the marked key, serve to support the music. I was recently attempting to explain what "playing the changes" means to an eager high school student who wants to improve at improvising, and I noticed that they didn't really possess any understanding of what chords are, why certain chords are used, what this means for the musical implications.

These are tall expectations to have of a student that belongs to a mediocre state music curriculum (I know this because I went through it myself ). I was lucky at their age in that I had an exceptionally good ear, and I loved following the notes in a piece of music and understand how they change. They don't have that, and it's my job to explain it in a way where they're not overwhelmed by how complex (and amazing!) music theory can be. Sorry for the word-vomit.

[Mamaposaune]

First they have to understand that a natural is neutral, a flat lowers it a 1/2 step, and a sharp raises it a 1/2 step. A keyboard can come in handy to help them visually understand 1/2 steps and whole steps.
Then demonstrate how all major scales are made up - 1/2 steps between the 3rd and 4th notes and the 7th and 8th notes. Songs are based on scales, the intervals between notes determines how the melody sounds.
Maybe demonstrating how a familiar melody sounds first played in the correct key, then the wrong key will help.
It's a process, they may not grasp it at first but once they do moving on to different key signatures and the circle of 5th's will make sense to them.

[ghmerrill]

These are tall expectations to have of a student that belongs to a mediocre state music curriculum (I know this because I went through it myself ). I was lucky at their age in that I had an exceptionally good ear, and I loved following the notes in a piece of music and understand how they change. They don't have that, and it's my job to explain it in a way where they're not overwhelmed by how complex (and amazing!) music theory can be. Sorry for the word-vomit.

I admire your goals and determination to achieve them, but I wonder how realistic they are for most students in the environment you describe (which I'd be tempted to describe as the "normal" one). I think that you can only do your best, one student at a time, take the "wins" when they occur and don't regret the "losses". There are just a lot of things tugging at the time and desires of those students.

I wish that I'd learned music theory at that point in my life, but of course it basically would have meant a heavy commitment to independent study beyond my normal coursework and requirements. I did have a good friend at the time (a year behind me in school) was was determined to become a musician and learned a great deal in his high school years -- in large part because of our high school instructor at that time (Bob LeBlanc who not much later went on to become head of low brass at Ohio State). My friend went on to bachelor degrees in trombone performance and composition at Eastman and then (I think) to a master's degree at Ithaca College. That's pretty unusual. But if you can contribute to something like that (alas, which you may never know), it's quite an accomplishment.

[Kbiggs]

For the order of the accidentals in the key signatures there is a mnemonic I like. The order of the flats are:

Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’s Father.

For the sharps:

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.

Mnemonics are a great way to learn things. This was the first time I’d heard this, or the other ones mentioned in the video.

To understand what key you’re in while looking at a key signature I will usually point out that if it’s a key signature with flats the second to last flat is the major key. A sharp key signature you need to go a half step up from the last sharp. Not as clean as the mnemonic, but it gets the job done.

If someone doesn’t learn well using mnemonics, I think this is pretty easy to remember. It’s the way I’ve taught younger students.

Ultimately, musicians should learn the circle of fifths/fourths. It’s fundamental to Western tonal music. The Camelot Wheel seems to be an extension of the circle of fifths/fourths.

[LeTromboniste]

Maybe we've all missed the point here? ...


Maybe it's not about learning the key signatures themselves, but about what a key signature is and why they're used? Maybe? In that case, a restatement of the original query with more detail might be useful. But then I think that video doesn't do a bad job.

This is exactly what I meant. I apologize for the confusion - circle of 5ths is a wonderful way to learn key signatures, but only if you understand what a key signature is and, by proxy, understand what the purpose is of organizing different sounding notes in various fashions.

The reason I find this particular problem interesting: I find that young trombone players are wonderful at the usual flat key signatures, perhaps a few sharp keys as well, but during a piece of music they are unable to reflexively adapt to a key change, or understand how notes that are marked as "accidental", or outside the marked key, serve to support the music. I was recently attempting to explain what "playing the changes" means to an eager high school student who wants to improve at improvising, and I noticed that they didn't really possess any understanding of what chords are, why certain chords are used, what this means for the musical implications.

These are tall expectations to have of a student that belongs to a mediocre state music curriculum (I know this because I went through it myself ). I was lucky at their age in that I had an exceptionally good ear, and I loved following the notes in a piece of music and understand how they change. They don't have that, and it's my job to explain it in a way where they're not overwhelmed by how complex (and amazing!) music theory can be. Sorry for the word-vomit.

I think then it makes more sense to approach it by teaching first the concept of keys (rather than key signature, which are a bit abstract when looked at on their own) as a set of notes that follow a certain sequence. The keyboard is a good tool for that because you can actually see where the semitones are in C major in addition to hearing it (it's good to start with only major keys because of how much simpler they are, and once the concept is acquired, it's easier to step over to minor, and other modes). The key signatures are simply the logical result of being in keys other than C, to keep the same makeup of tones and semitones in the scale.

Then as the next step I would ask them how they think they can figure out what key signature is needed to be in G major and have the same tones and semitones as they had in C. Have them go through each note, and ask if and show how it still respects the pattern, until you get to F and they see/say that it needs to be F# to have that semitone at the end, and so G has 1 #, and the sharp is on the 7th degree of the scale. So if they ever need to write a key signature with sharps, the last sharp is always one note below the 1st degree of the scale, and if they have a key signature and want to know the key, it's one note above the last sharp.

Then same process with F major where they'll see they need to add the Bb to keep the semitone in the same place, and everything else is ok, and so F has 1 b, with the flat on the 4th degree. So to find the key, they go down a fourth below the last flat (which you can then have them see will always happen be the penultimate flat, for a shortcut), or to find the key signature of a key, the last flat is a fourth above the 1st degree.


For keys beyond 1# and 1b it of course requires also knowing the order of flats and sharps. But I find it's much better to teach it that way than just memorizing what key belongs to what key signature, because then you've not just taught them the answer, you've taught them a method to reach the answer again on their own if they forget it (something about fish and fishing...). Also goes a step beyond just teaching last sharp+one semitone and penultimate flat, because it gives understanding about why it's the last sharp plus a semitone or the penultimate flat, and that's a seed worth planting for when other related concepts are taught down the road.

[robcat2075]

Songs are based on scales, the intervals between notes determines how the melody sounds.
Maybe demonstrating how a familiar melody sounds first played in the correct key, then the wrong key will help.

That stuff.

Most people will hear a scale or a diatonic melody and not understand that the intervals between the steps are not all the same. They are not aware that there is a pattern of whole steps and half steps that is needed to "sound right"

That needs to be somehow taught and understood and heard before "key signatures" will be anything other than a mathematical exercise.

Lesson plan:
First they need to understand tonic.

• Play this phrase of My Country Tis of Thee with different ending notes and show them how only one sounds "done".

MCToT.png

• Have them sing that phrase without ending on the tonic. Does it feel done? Talk about how that last B makes you want to go to the tonic. Melodies have a "home base" we call the "tonic" and a "leading tone" just below it.

Then talk about "Major scale"

• teach them to sing a C major scale and linger on the leading tone before the high C

• Show them how the white notes, C to C, on the keyboard make the same scale.

• Next, have them sing a same-sounding scale, starting on G. linger on the leading tone # before the high G Don't show it on the keyboard yet.

• Make sure they're singing the leading tone right, then show them on the keyboard how the white notes, G to G, don't make the same sound as the major scale they are singing.

• Show them how raising the F to the F# corrects the major scale that starts on G.

I think this demonstration of wrong/right leading tone will be the easiest for novices to hear, and easiest to show on the keyboard and can demonstrate how a key signature fixes white notes that sound "wrong".

[AtomicClock]

I'm not convinced using a piano is the best approach. These students are still learning to be familiar with their own instrument. Why would introducing a new foreign one help anything?

When a Joe Alessi video uses metaphor to explain a trombone concept, he sometimes goes to the tuning or customization of a performance sportscar engine. That doesn't mean anything to me at all. Maybe I end up learning something new about engines based on my imperfect understanding of the concept he was trying to communicate. Which is backwards to what he wanted.

[LeTromboniste]

I'm not convinced using a piano is the best approach. These students are still learning to be familiar with their own instrument. Why would introducing a new foreign one help anything?

When a Joe Alessi video uses metaphor to explain a trombone concept, he sometimes goes to the tuning or customization of a performance sportscar engine. That doesn't mean anything to me at all. Maybe I end up learning something new about engines based on my imperfect understanding of the concept he was trying to communicate. Which is backwards to what he wanted.

I don't think robcat (or I) are suggesting having them play the piano, just demonstrating on the piano. Even if some students are totally unaware of what a keyboard looks like and is played (which I would imagine at least a majority would be at least remotely familiar with), a keyboard is visually extremely instinctive, especially in C major where you see immediately where the semitones are. If OP's students don't know what a semitone is and how it's different than a whole tone to the point that they would be baffled by a demonstration of semitones on a keyboard, then clearly explaining key signatures is not going to be successful no matter the method..

[robcat2075]

I'm not convinced using a piano is the best approach. These students are still learning to be familiar with their own instrument. Why would introducing a new foreign one help anything?

The piano keyboard is a universal musical tool. It is not foreign.

A piano keyboard is something on which everyone can SEE and HEAR the placement of notes when they are played in a way that they will not by looking at a saxophone or a trumpet when it is played.

I'm not saying the students PLAY the piano themselves, although they may. I'm saying the teacher can use it to demonstrate pitches, when appropriate to the lesson.

Music is of course about hearing, but a key signature is a visual symbol used in the visual communication of music. It will be necessary to SHOW things to teach "key signature".

[BrassSection]

Not just kids…since a majority of my music is only a chord sheet, I rarely see key signatures, just a notation of what key the song is. Have all the scales memorized so it’s not a problem, just gotta really put the old thinking cap on when sheet music comes out for ensemble. Circle of fifths??? Never even heard of it until I was in charge of grandson’s piano practice time when his teacher, my daughter, was working. I knew enough about music I could help him practice, even new concepts, just don’t ask me to play one…all my fingers can do to manage 3 or 4 valves or the slide. Age surely isn’t improving dexterity any, anything that requires extended grasping really agitates the old fingers, like using wrenches for mechanical work Holding any horns or valves not a problem.

[VJOFan]

# 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C G D A E B F C
b 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

This isn't a teaching tool as much as a mnemonic. It can be put into a table, so things line up nicely.

One still has to remember which keys include sharp or flat in their names. It is a thing that can be memorized that lets someone build a reference chart for theory tests and the like.

[AndrewMeronek]

I'm not convinced using a piano is the best approach. These students are still learning to be familiar with their own instrument. Why would introducing a new foreign one help anything?

Another take on this valid criticism:

Key signatures themselves are a foreign concept. Trombone slides know nothing about keys, or even scales, without a lot of major intervention.

[AtomicClock]

I've just been in many educational situations where the teacher introduced something novel in order to use it as a teaching aid, then it disappeared forever. If I was familiar with the thing, then maybe it helped. If I wasn't, it didn't.

Sure, the piano won't disappear forever. But it will for a while.