I have learned more from this 7 minute video than I have from eleven years of musical training

How come they dont cover it like this in school?

Omfg you are a freakin life saver!!!!!!! I have been stuck on my AP music theory hw for about an hour and this was the only video that helped. Thank you so much

My difficulty is REMEMBERING to actually flatten or sharpen the notes while playing.

That was the most incredibly clear explanation I've ever heard on the subject. Most instructors force you to 'build the scale' which can be a daunting task for those starting out. I'm a guitarist just wanting to know enough to pick out a melody on a lead sheet and my biggest hangup has been key signatures. Not anymore! BRILLIANT! Subscribed and going to your website to sign up.

this is like a weird math lol

Narrator: "Impress your musical friends..." Me: "Friends, yeah sure."

Here's my summary of how to remember key signatures. Hope this helps someone :) *Sharp Major*: Last sharp + 1 semitone (or half steps) is tonic of key. E.g. F# C# (C# is the last sharp on staff) = D Major key signature. E# (which would be F) = F# Major key signature and so on. *Flat Major*: 2nd to last flat is tonic of key. E.g. Bb Eb Ab = Eb Major key signature. Exception: Bb = F Major (just need to memorise this). *Relative Major keys*: Minor key signature + 3 semitones is tonic of key. E.g. A Minor = C Major. Eb Major = C Minor. *Relative Minor keys*: Major key signature minus 3 semitones is tonic of key.

Finally a sane explanation

I came in here thinking its gonna be some wacky brain exercise, but came out actually knowing how to figure out key signatures pretty quickly! thanks a lot!

Thank you! For anyone confused, you read the sharps and flats from right-to-left! It took me a while to figure it out after scrolling through the comments! Good luck :)

Not only youre a great teacher and pianist but also a very kind person to provide this knowledge for free

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! This helped me not have a major heart attack. I felt lost. Now I feel better. Thanks again!

OMG THAT SECRET IS SO HELPFUL!!!!!!! THANK YOU XDDD I'm always worried on reading music because of key signatures XD

I'm 5 years into Cello and just learning this. My second year teacher just assumed I already knew it when I didn't, and I never really learned until now. Thank you :)

Ok, Dude -- I've been reading music for 30 years, and have never known how to determine what key a piece of music is written in. I kid you not -- middle school, high school and even college teachers/professors never explained it. I got it in 3 minutes with you. Thanks!

Thank you! I have been singing and playing violin for nearly 20 years and I always relied on the piano or learning by ear and sight reading do,re,mi style. I feel empowered! My profession is a language teacher and as music is a language, I would like to offer one tip with regards to how much information was given (with regards to what I could absorb). Part 2 about pitfalls is something I will have to continue to study at a later point, as I felt my mind wanted to take some time to remember and use the first few tips. :) Thanks again. Terrific.

Penultimate: last but one in a series of things; second last.

Glad to see someone sharing this. Great job! I learned this my first semester as a music major. I took a music course geared for general education teachers and musical theater actors. The professor showed us the easy way of doing things and tried to keep it really simple. We learned simple piano accompaniment techniques as well so you could play the melody in your right hand and "fake it" with your left hand. I use this all the time playing in bands. Probably the best course I took at Grossmont College.

So far the shortest and the most informative piano lesson I've ever watched, 7 minutes but felt like i was taught for 7 hours by an expert.

This is amazing! Unbelievable how easy it is, and I spent so long trying to memorize the circle of fifths!

Wow ,key signature and vocabulary lesson too . penultimate.now I have to find ways to use it.

My orchestra teacher at my school is always tellng us to talk about the key signature and we all sit there like idiots but now I understand. Thank you so much. You're a real life saver!

Omg thank you so much! I've done music for like 5 years and still didn't know how to work out key signatures but now thanks to you I know!

THIS WAS SO HELPFUL BECAUSE I HAVE A THEORY EXAM TOMORROW

OMG thank u this was really helpful now I am understanding the key signatures

Holy cow - why has no one told me this before. I could figure out any key signature by working through all the"machinery," but this is just so simple.

I never comment on videos but this... life changing

1:33 im her nodding like "ohhhhh" tysm

This just helped me so much! Thank you a million times over!

I've been learning piano for 3 years, and I'm taking my ABRSM grade 4 exam next week. I'm realmy struggling with sight reading , so your video saved my life really. Thank you. I've studied with 3 different teachers till now and they never mentioned me about this secret.

OMG this was extremely helpful. I think I took almost 2 years trying to learn this and I understood everything in under 8 Minutes! THANK YOU!

I was so clueless and this helped so much

Nice video! I would add the order of the sharps or flats appear in the staff, just in case someone has to figure out the key, without having the staff in front of him/her. The Flats order would be B,E,A,D,G,C,F. As an easy way to memorize this order, just remember the word BEAD and add Good, Cool, Flats :) As far as sharps, just reverse that order (F,C,G,D,A,E,B). So, recapping, if you have 4 sharps you're in the key of E major (or C# minor, which is its relative minor). If you have 3 flats, you're in Eb major - the penultimate flat (or C minor). there are two easy exceptions: No flats or sharps - C major/ A minor; only one flat you're in F major/ D minor

I've been playing the violin for years now yet I never understood how key signatures work even with all kinds of teachers explaining it to me and I finally got it thanks to this video, so thank you so much.

Very interesting. A few helpful hints. # An easy way to remember the sharp key signatures is:- Good Deeds Are Every Boys First Consideration. To remember how to place them in order. Just speak like Yoda in Star wars, : First Consideration, Good Deeds Are Every Boys. Plus the last 3 key signatures in both flats and sharps, are technically the same keys B/Cb, F#/Gb, C#/Db. Just enharmonically changed. # Never assume that the key signature/Time signature or tempo will remain the same through the piece. Always check beforehand, and mark changes (in pencil), so that you can prepare before you get to it. Use a cymbol like a 'pair of glasses ', to remind you to be watchful. # Always check your instruments danger area. For example. The Clarinet has an area called 'The Break'. In which you may have to use alternative fingerings, for a smooth sound. An example. You find a passage of 3 bars in 4/4 time, in the key of Bb Major. Containing the notes starting at the top space. Eb/C/D/B natural, over 2 bars, finishing on Bb. It may look easy at first, but you will have to use your left fingering for the C & B natural, due to that you cannot just slide onto the common C, without accidentally playing a D. Don't believe me, try it. # It may not be rocket science, but count your bars. There are pieces of music that contain the same rhythm, over a large amount of bars. In some cases, the entire piece. Elizabethan Serenade by Ronald Binge, is one such piece. This comes under the musicians humour book as RRS Repetitive Rhythm Syndrome. Mark this parts carefully . You don't want to lose your place. Otherwise. Great video guys. Hope that the above helps.

Counting up one to find the key signature at 3:30 my eyes went that big O_O omg thank you man very good trick!

Dear HowToReadSheetMusic, Thank you so much for this video! This was an amazing help, especially since I personally have had a key signature problem for a while and have a sight singing test quite soon. I would like to thank you amazing teaching, simple yet encouraging. sincerely, beginners choir student

This is pretty good for practising your majors and minors.

You Sir, saved my musical theory understanding. I have taken about 2 pages of comprehensible musical notes (actual notes not like E, F, etc) and I can finally understand Key Signatures and relative minors, etc. So THANK YOU

Wow. This just blew my mind in a positive way. Previously I was trying to find a way through the "Circle of fifth", but you way is way easier. Recently I've learnt about 3 centromeres for Relative minors, which also blew my mind and explained tons of things, i.e. why did I chose to use specific notes subliminally in my compositions. So thank you very much, for giving me that crazy hint of professionals. Amazing info for a person who never taken any real musical education.

Amazing,Thank you very much!!!

ive been confused for 7 years about scales and signatures but this made it so easy

awesome video man! I am studying for a band test, and as a percussionist, key signature is not usually my best subject! Thanks for taking the stress of the band test off me!

Tip: The key signatures in the Bass Clef is always 1 step lower than the Treble Clef (Not really helpful in most ways but for simple knowledge)

now I know "Penultimate" I'm gonna get teacher's pet points!

Thank you! This helps so much! I zone out in class often and forget important things. Thank goodness for your videos!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been playing the cello for 3 years and I could never work out key signatures I've got this thank you sooooo much!!!!!!!! :-)

All year my music teacher has been trying to teach the class how to do this wow we must be all dumb 😂

Easiest way to remember: Flats: F B E A D G 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sharps: G D A E B F 1 2 3 4 5 6 Flats always begin with "F". Flip the sequence for a mirror image of the sharps GDAEBF. The numbers represent how many sharps or flats are in the key signature. Hope this helps!

At 3:37, "Utterly terrifying prospects", i love the response! So true when i see the sharps.

Thank you so much, the +1 worked so well, saved me from interminable counting!

Great video! I love how upbeat you are. I’m beginning lessons again after 20 years. Wow, have I forgotten a lot, though it’s still really fun. So please excuse my question if it’s idiotic, but why is it important to know the key of a piece if you have all the sharps and flats already spelled out?

Why wasn't I told this at school ! lol. Cheers mate !

Thank you for this video. I got put in the advanced chorus as a freshman and had to learn all the key signatures. This video helped sooo much.

This is great! I've done pretty well in auditions for college, but this was one of the areas that I struggled with. Thanks so much for making this video!

I couldn’t get it😭 That part when there are many sharps and flats

Are you God?

Music is truly wonderful! I just began learning piano and I never knew how deep and intelligent the charts were.

To identify the key with sharp(s), add a semitone to the last sharp. F# + 1 halftone gives you the G major. To identify the key with flat(s), use the flat right before the last flat and that is the name of the key. A Eb and a Bb to its left is a Bb major

This video stopped world hunger

what did he say at the end? taking your musician shit to the next level?

To do this back wards (You're given a name of a key eg. A major and asked to find out it's key sign. You can do it by FCGDAEB. Find the letter of the MAJOR key on FCGDAEB That is "A" here in FCGD"A"EB. See two letters before it. In this case, FC'G'D"A"EB. And then underline everything from F to the letter two notes before. This is the key sign. To find the key sign for a minor key , just find it's relative major and find it's key sign. To find the key sign of a key that has FLATS, do the same thing, except with FCGDAEB turned the other way around (BEADGCF) and do the same process.

This video was extremely helpful. A tip for fellow musicians who also play guitar: You can easily name all the key signatures using the circle of fifths(in C), so if there are 2 sharps, you automatically know that it's D major or B minor

It is not enough too say count down three to find the relative minor, be specific, it is a minor third. Three down from E is C, and that is not the correct minor.

So why can't they just name the key signature like the actual last note instead of having to do the one step bs

This is about to save my life on my test next Tuesday. Thank the Sweet Lord!!

Wow! This really works. Magical formula. First time i hear this method. Genius!

Got a flat sy,bol on the b, gotta be b flat majro can't possible be idk f major that'd be ridiculous

I still don't fuckin understand and im crying from frustration because I still don't get it after playing violin for 6 years. I dont understand Key signature b major scale or all the others i just dont get it why its so difficult for me to understand

I knew these rules back in the day but like a lot of things they were lost in the sands of time. Thanks for great brief lesson. Much appreciated.

Had a hard time find this info online probably because of the way I worded the question but your ytube answered it perfectly. Thanks much for simplifying it so well.

What is penultimate?

Forget this crap! Go study scale degrees until it makes sense to you. Then you will know why key signatures exist, and that you can ignore them if you focus on playing the tonic note and its accompanying degrees. Learn what music is ( multiples of a designated frequency). Composers wrote it in sheet form because they didn't have cassette recorders yet. Mozart would never bother with this crap if he were alive today.

My cousin has two years until she starts percussion and I am teaching her how to read music and this really helps I sent her the link and I hope she takes advantage of it so she can be the best in her percussion when she starts

Thanks for this fella. I am new to easing music and have started singing in a choir. This explains so much.

My teacher didn't explain this very well, I'm SOOOO glad you posted this. :) Super helpful! Thanks!

Thank you so much for posting this video! I finally understand key signatures!!

Omg, I SUCK at music theory and I’m a piano player! I’ve been playing for many years now and I still suck when it comes to reading music! This has helped so much and I don’t feel like a dimwit no longer!!!

This video along with one other REALLY saved my ass on a FullSail University Quiz and I got 100% on Accidentals. The summary video they provide doesn't provide enough information and this video enlightened me. THANK YOU🙏🏾

I’m about to convince my band teacher into putting me into advanced band so I can be with friends, not to mention I know nothing about sheet music so this really helped thanks dude !!

Music teachers really need to look at this. 6 years of being clueless cleared up in 5 mins. Thanks

Going back to playing the piano after 8 years. This video is amazing. Thanks for helping me remember!

Omg thank you! This has confused me for so long and you did a very good job of explaining it. I actually get it now!

Thank you for your video. I'm a vocalist training to sing in a professional choir. I need to learn sight singing solfage and this video helped me out tremendously

I have my music yr 11 exam tomorrow and I was really stressing about my Key signatures, I cant thank you enough. YOU JUST GOT A SUBSCRIBER!! :D thx man

I have been studying music in school for close to 3 years now. Key signatures was one of the first things they taught us, but this trick made it 100 times easier to get it!

Thanks a million!! I've always ben stuck on how to identify key signatures and my piano teacher said that I should just learn them off by heart. Now I don't have to spend all that time on learning my key signatures!!!

oh my god thank you so much! I do music however, I sing so I don't play an instrument and I've always found it difficult to learn the key signatures doing music theory so this was really helpful!

You’re my new favourite person!!! So happy I came across this video!!!

Excellent work. Quick, to the point, and very helpful for the assignment that is due by tonight. Thanks for the lesson!

awesome video. since i know a few scales, i look for sheet music written in the key signatures i more or less recognize. this video has made learning songs much easier.

This is truly a simple and easy way to understand key signatures. Thanks a million.

Thankyou soooo much. I had no idea what anything meant and now I do

Thank you so much for this amazing insight. This is life changing. Its so wonderful. !!! Thank you so much.

I'm auditioning at two different colleges this week and this was the only thing I wasn't prepared to do. So.. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

have my music theory in two days, this has pretty much saved my life

This helped me SO much thank you so much. From a struggling music ed student.

Hey so happy to join the class. The bells are finally ringing.

omgim taking music theory and I thought I had to memorize all these in one night since we move so fast ty soooooo much