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Shey, are you singing this while playing? There is a nice little cross accent going on which is nice for interrupting the pattern with a line that makes no contextual sense but it might throw you while you're unaware of it.

When we pronounce rosemary we use a dactyl (DUM-di-dee, apricot, buttercup) and this tempts us to sing 'rose' on the stronger beat, the first of bar 9 instead of the last beat of bar 8.

_IF_ this is what's putting you off there you can try focusing only on the notes not on the words. If that doesn't work you might try changing the words to fit the metre, the simplest change is to sing Rose-Marie instead of Rosemary.

As a last ditch alternative you could swap the A and B in bar 9 to create a straight descent from the D bar 8 just until your LH is making the change. Changing to Rebecca instead of rosemary would work well here. Treat this as just a technical exercise.

Once you get the hands flowing you can revert to the regular line and enjoy the cross accent with a better understanding of what it's doing.

It might help to know what's happening harmonically at this point. The book has just mentioned the sharpened seventh in the Harmonic Minor scale and forewarns you of an impending C#. But it hasn't happened. What they've done instead is throw in a piece that climaxes not on the dominant, A, (which is more usual) but on the subdominant, G, and they've sharpened the sixth instead (as in the Melodic Minor scale).

Find another minor key piece that does this or that doesn't use the dominant!

Despite not being the highest note in the piece, the B natural, the last syllable of 'rosemary', is picking up a piquant little climax after the main one ('sage') and reduces the climatic effect on 'remember' as the line sweeps down now to the end of the verse.

This is a lovely piece and when you've finished you might like to add the slur from E to C at the end of the third line, 'one who lives the-ere'. It cleverly avoids making a D minor scale out of the line and wills us on to the tonic at the end of the verse.

Yes definitely singing it in my head! I have been trying to understand what you are saying, but not sure if that's the problem. I tried playing it just counting 123, it really helped, got through it but still hesitated on 3 bars,
I hope I haven't practised my mistakes!
No, going extremely slow, and it sounds fine, speed up a little and hesitation again in the same places.
Practising bar 8 through to 10, with focus, then leave until tomorrow. Thank you.

You're not alone, Shey! Even I have trouble sometimes.

Don't speed up! I'll say that again because it's important, don't speed up.

This is a difficult thing to grasp and you need, really need to experience it a few times before you get it.

Keep playing it slowly and keep concentrating on it. This is hard, mentally. It's very demanding and many give up on this part too soon but you will find one day you can play it without having to concentrate on it. Then you don't have to speed up. You will already be playing it faster.

Once you experience this a few times it starts making sense and you start to realise what everyone's talking about when they say go slow. You're still playing at thinking speed but your thinking has been replaced by nerve impulses.

Once you realise you don't have to think about it your fingers relax and start playing faster than you COULD think about it. There is no conscious speeding up. It just happens. And it's effortless.

Ahhh, I think someone tried to explain that to me before, the slow makes it settle in the brain thing. What with my theory work and everything, plus worrying instead of enjoying, I forgot!
Thanks for being very clear on this and reminding me. I've seen people whizz through this book and so I felt annoyed getting stuck on 3 notes. New mantra "slow speeds itself up".

Oh making great progress. Stopped the hesitation in Scarborough Fair, but learned so much because of it. I seem able to focus on a problem and try to find ways to overcome it, by using methods shown to me here by all of you. Before, I just felt I wasn't studying properly. I feel I need to sort out some lessons very soon and am really enjoying music theory, well so far.
Got the triads, and scales in my head and understand how they build. I can see how the chords are put together, it will take some time to learn to recognise them, but no longer stuck.
Pratising Entainer from Alfred's at the moment, next step theory of "key signatures", will be requesting help soon. Thanks all.

This is what practise is all about, Shey, matching the method to the problem. Slow play is a great tool on its own but it's as an ingredient in other methods that it really shines. It's about knowing where or how to focus the concentration.

It's really great to hear of your progress and very considerate of you to tell us.

Oh well tried the slur from E to C at end of Scarborough, but not really helpful just now but thanks.
Got the begininngs of entertainer and like that lots.
All falling in to place, slowly but surely.
Ready for help with key signatures.

OK, putting on my key signatures thinking cap.

Are there any particular questions or areas about key signatures you have in mind?

Here goes, how can I recognise what key a piece of music is in just by looking at the sharps / flats at the beginning?
I know it's connected with the "circle of 5ths", which looks like some kind of puzzle to me. Do I have to understand the circle to understand key signatures?

Some classical music may be called 'Canon in D Minor' for example, (I don't know if that is a real title!) Which is helpful, why not just write the key at the start of every piece?

I understand a little about transposing, where it may need to fit a singer's voice range, so the key is a level of sound, but how is it deciphered just from the sharps / flats?

I'm not understanding my own questions here, because I'm rambling now. Just basic information please, in layman's terms would be of help.

"Every gun makes its own tune" - Blondie in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Every key has its own signature.

Where there are no sharps or flats in the key signature the key is C major or A minor. Learn this.

If a piece is in C major there will typically be an early C in the bass and it's dominant, G, not far away. It's likely to finish on C major. Early sharps are most likely to be F# (hinting at the dominant, G major).

If it were in A Minor there would be an early A in the bass and its dominant, E, not far away. It's likely to finish on A Minor or A Major. Early sharps are most likely to be G# (the sharpened seventh to emphasise the tonic and make the A sound finished).
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The most important chord after the tonic is the dominant, up a fifth. Historically, Western music in a major key will change to the key of the dominant before any other.

(The dominant is the first new tone in the harmonic series after the octave. Google 'harmonic series' when you're feeling adventurous.)

A minor key piece has more options but we're not concerned with minor keys just yet.

The dominant of C major is G. Play the C major scale from G to G and hear that it doesn't sound finished. In order to make the new key sound like a tonic we need to raise the pitch of the seventh degree. Sharpen the F, play the scale again and hear that the scale sounds finished. The signature of G major is one sharp, F#.

The first sharp in any sharped key signature will always be F#. The last sharp will give a clue to the key. The major key will always be the note above the last sharp. The note after F# is G. The minor key will always be the note before it. The note before F# is E.

In the circle of fifths, G major is the first step clockwise and E minor is the same 'hour' on the inner circle.

The dominant of G major is D. Play the G major scale notes from D to D and hear that it doesn't sound finished. In order to make the new key sound like a tonic we need to raise the pitch of the seventh degree. Sharpen the C, play the scale again and hear that the scale sounds finished. The signature of D major is two sharps, F# and C#.

The first sharp in any sharped key signature will always be F# and if there's a second it will be C#. The last sharp will give a clue to the key. The major key will always be the note above the last sharp. The note after C# is D. The minor key will always be the note before it. The note before C# is B.

In the circle of fifths, D major is the first step clockwise and B minor is the same 'hour' on the inner circle.

The sharped keys continue:
A major or F# minor, 3 sharps, + G#
E major or C# minor, 4 sharps, + D#
B major or G# minor, 5 sharps, + A#
F# major or D# minor, 6 sharps, + E#
C# major or A# minor, 7 sharps, + B#

This is the first part.

The major key of a piece goes as follows:
no sharp or flat: C major
1 sharp (F#) : G major
2 sharps (F#,C#) : D major
3 sharps (F#,C#,G#) : A major
4 sharps (F#,C#,G#,D#) : E major
5 sharps: B major
6 sharps: F# major
7 sharps: C# major

I've only written out the first four. Notice some patterns:
1. The names of keys as you increase the number of sharps: C major, G major, D major, E major... Each is 5 notes above the previous one. (G is 5 up from C etc.)
2. As the notes are sharped, the preceding ones stay the same
3. The last sharp is a half step below the key name. I.e. For the key of D major (2 sharps), the last sharp (C#) is a half step away from D major

I decided to learn my key signatures at some point. The best way to go about it is not to start cramming and memorizing the 7 sharps signatures and the 7 flats signatures. Start with one - the one you are playing in your music - and become familiar with it. Make it "real". Then when you do want to memorize, also think of the patterns, and then you can also derive them.

The patterns I described are reflected in the "circle of fifths" diagrams. I suggest that you understand how the music works, and then look at the diagram to see what you already know rather than the other way around.
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The minor key is derived from the major key that shares the same signature. It is 3 notes below or 6 notes above, as follows: No sharps or flats shows the key of C major or A minor. One sharp shows the key of G major or E minor. A is 6 notes above C or 3 notes below C (same thing).

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As soon as you have two possibilities, the fact of "4 sharps = E major" is no longer enough, because 4 sharps could also be C# minor.

So at this point you have TWO possibilities. E major, or C# minor. This is good news in the sense that you don't have oodles of possibilities - you are deciding between only 2.

- The music tends to hover around a particular note and you find yourself expecting to land there. That is your Tonic. In E major it's E, and in C# minor it's C#. This is a "feel" thing. You might try listening to music and seeing if you can hear how it tends to center around some pitch.

- Music will usually end on the Tonic and the Tonic chord. So in E major it will end on an E (major) chord; in C# minor it will end on a C#m chord** [footnote].

- There is a V-I or V7-I cadence which commonly ends music, and the V chord is an important chord in the music. This is the chord built on the 5th note of the key. In the key of E major it is B or B7; in C# minor it is G# or G#7. So at the end of a piece in E major you will see these chords: B7-E (B D# F# A) => (E G# B). The last note in the melody will probably be E. In the key of C# minor you will see these chords: G#7 - C# (G# B# D# F#) => (C# E G#). Note that there is no B# in the key signature of C# minor (4 sharps) since the notes in that key signature are F# C# G# D#. Therefore an accidental will be placed in the music to raise that B to B# (played as a C on the piano keys). Leading us to:

- music in minor keys will have lots of accidentals on note number 7 (7th degree note) of the scale, raising that note by a half step. Here is why:
--- In A minor (no sharps or flats), the V chord would be a Vm (V minor) EGB (Em). But we want a V - a major chord - so we raise G to G# to (EG#B) or for a V7, EG#BD#. Therefore you will see a splattering of sharps all over your music, always at G turning it into G#.

Most of what has been written here also applies to flats signatures. (next)

** footnote - Just to make things confusing, sometimes music in a minor key ends on a major using what is called the "Picardy third). Thus your music in A minor (no sharps or flats) might end on A major. It's easy to spot since the C will have an accidental turning it into a C#. So if you run into something like that, you'll know what's happening

Flats signatures are the same as sharps in most ways. The pattern of flats themselves go like this:

no sharps or flats: C major (A minor)
one flat (Bb): F major (D minor)
two flats (Bb Eb): Bb major (G minor)
three flats (Bb Eb Ab): Eb major (C minor)
four flats (Bb Eb Ab Db): Ab major (F minor)
etc.

Patterns to notice: This time if you are going by increased number of flats, your C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab are climbing in fourths. If you go backwards: 4 flats, 3 flats, 2 flats - you're back to fifths
- the last flat in the signature is a 4th above your key. Thus in Eb major your last flat is Ab which is 4 above Eb
- the first four letters in the signature spell the word BEAD
- the order of notes that get flatted are the reverse of the order of notes that get sharped in sharped signatures
--- flats: Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,Cb,Fb
-- sharps: F#,C#,G#,D#,A#,E#,B#

The rest is the same.
Note that when a note is raised that has a flat in it, the accidental that raises it is a natural sign. Thus the key of C minor has the notes Bb,Eb,Ab in the key signature. The V chord of C minor is G (GBD) but the signature has a Bb. You will see natural signs all over wherever there is a V chord turning it into B(nat). So that is another accidental to look for.

They do write the key at the start but in music they just show it with sharp or flat symbols in whatever key. In text they will say Canon in D whatever rather than saying: Canon in ##. In music they show it as ##.

Actually Shey, not D minor. I believe Canon was written in D "Major" from sources I've seen. I assume you know some of your scales? When you play the D major scale you notice two black keys being played: F# and C# right? Well, those two black key sharps will appear at the beginning as: ## after the clef symbol to say that Canon is in D Major.

Canon so happens to be diatonic which means all the chords to it will be the chords to the D major chord scale. I like playing it in the key of C because I can use just the chords of the white keys.

Any thoughts on that?

Key signature can be displayed with any number of sharp or flat symbols in music. Those numbers, whatever they may be, will be the number you realized doing scales. Key of A will show three sharps ###, E will have ####, D will have ##. One sharp # goes to the G scale. F has one flat "b".

This is what the circle of 5th's is basically all about. Take a look around the circle, you'll see what I mean....

Russ

I hope for your sake that you will understand it, because it's one of those puzzles that makes your brain do a happy dance once you figure it out.

It's like the secret decoder ring of music theory, and saves you lots of memorization, because so many patterns in music come back to simply knowing where you are in the pattern, and which direction you're going. Having so many questions unlocked by the same puzzle-ring re-enforces all these interwoven memories into a greater whole.

Simpler statement: you don't need to know it, but i hope get your mind around it because it's only cool but also useful.

Continuing on from my earlier post...

The last three keys on the sharp side, B major, F# major and C# major are the enharmonic keys of Cb major, Gb major and Db major, 7 flats, 6 flats and 5 flats respectively.

You can continue round the circle by first converting all the sharps to flats then follow the method outlined earlier and sharpening the sevenths by naturalising the flats.

Cb (Enharmonic B major) is Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb.

Recognising the flat keys from their signatures is a question of looking at the penultimate flat in the key signature and simply learning F, one flat, Bb for the major keys. The minor keys on the flat side are a third up from the last flat. Bb raised a major third is D, so D minor.

Thus the flattened keys continue:
Cb major or Ab minor, 7 flats, last is Fb
Gb major or Eb minor, 6 flats, last is Cb
Db major or Bb minor, 5 flats, last is Gb
Ab major or F minor, 4 flats, last is Db
Eb major or C minor, 3 flats, last is Ab
Bb major or G minor, 2 flats, last is Eb
F major or D minor, 1 flat, Bb

Alternately, working your way anticlockwise from C play the C major scale from the fourth note, the subdominant, F, which is a fifth below C. You should hear that the seventh note in the C major scale, B, needs to be flattened when working in the anticlockwise direction to prevent C being the tonic.

A little off topic - an introduction to modes.

Note that the starting scale when working anti-clockwise round the circle of fiths is the Lydian mode, a major mode, that uses the tone/semitone pattern TTTSTTS rather than the major scale TTSTTTS.

In the clockwise direction you were starting with the Mixolydian mode, another major mode, using the pattern TTSTTST.

There are seven 'modes' based on the old Greek just intonation. The major scale is based on the Ionian mode and the minor scale based on the Aeloian. All the Greek modes use the pattern of black keys on the piano in their tone/semitone pattern.
TTSTTTS = Ionian (Major)
TSTTTST = Dorian (minor)
STTTSTT = Phrygian (minor)
TTTSTTS = Lydian (Major)
TTSTTST = Mixolydian (Major)
TSTTSTT = Aeolian (minor)
STTSTTT = Locrian (minor)

The recurring pattern of three adjacent tones and two adjacent tones separated by semitones is the basis of all diatonic music. No other combination of tones and semitones creates as many perfect and pure intervals.

Sometimes a piece with a flattened seventh frequently ocurring in the music is actually written in the Mixolydian mode.

You might come across a piece with a sharpened sixth (a natural sharpened or a flattened note naturalised). This would create the Dorian mode. The Dorian mode is all the white keys starting on D. Now have another look at Scarborough Fair. And ask yourself why was this written with a flat in the key signature.

Actually, Russ, that's Pachelbel's Canon in D. There's more than one canon! There's a Canon in D minor (as luck would have it) in the current ABF Recital (JimF playing Scriabin). There's one in B flat minor in the upcoming Grieg Recital. There's a bundle of canons in Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum in various keys.

In the days when equal temperament wasn't as widely accepted naming the key gave a very good indication of its mood.

Check out this link:
The Signature Series

Richard,

Thanks! I was referring to Pachelbel's Canon. I had no idea. I thought there was only the one.

Wow, thank you so much for all your input.
I have quite a lot to read through, it can be overwhelming at first glance. I promise to read through and work at the piano and although some of what I have read through is making sense to me, quite a lot is not!
I will read everything carefully, and will do my best to take it all in, although what you guys see as "laymans term" is not quite the same as my interpretation!
I will read through and anything not understood will be brought right back at you.
I won't waste your time, but I will not pretend I understand something when I do not, that's not fair to you.
PS88, can you dumb down some of this info for me please?

Shey,

I know what it's like being bombarded with so much info from kind people who just want to help and all too often from time to time, all you need is just one question answered to fill in some blanks and let you take the lead from there. The problem is: You get more information than you can keep up with and you feel like you need to keep pace. No, don't do that! Don't get ahead of yourself or you may lose what is important.

More than a year now, I've worked exclusively with PS88, Keystring and a great Teacher, Gary D. in a private forum, studying theory and they have helped immensely with my understanding on many subjects and often I would get more information than I could possibly swallow in one gulp. I understand your appreciation and I understand your wish to have it all in much smaller bites. Too much information is overwhelming and counter productive.

Even after all this time studying with them I'll still ask specific questions on material we've already covered because music theory doesn't stop with with one question being answered. The mind takes time to digest. Facts can be memorized but they will not be fully realized until you come to experience them yourself as reality and when that happens it leads to more question but you have to be ready for those question and those question will come from you.

Don't hesitate to ask again, questions you may have already asked if you're in need of further clarification. It will be completely understood and expected. As you become clear on certain basic facts you will then ask more question. You must remain in control of those questions because only you can possibly know what remains to be unclear before moving on.

Russ

Thanks Russ, I am working my theory in small bites, seeing connections and patterns already but I know it is going to be long term study. It's a whopping subject! I have so much help here I do appreciate it. Hoping PS88 will appear with his dumbed down version for me.

Key.

I'll start with pieces where you can determine key by looking at the key signature and the final note or chord of the piece. In a subsequent post I'll show some additional features that you can look at for further confirmation of the key. In a later post I'll look at some more complicated examples.

I consider this to be, not dumbing down, but structuring information in manageable chunks. The idea of key connects with several other ideas. I'll introduce the bare minimum, and then start exploring those connections in other posts.

Let's start with key signature. Each key signature suggests two possible keys: one major key and one minor key.

Chart of key signatures

On this chart, the outside circle shows the names of the major keys. The inside circle shows the names of the minor keys. (You may notice that I have craftily linked to a site about the Circle of Fifths. That's one of the connections that I'll talk about later.)

Simple way to determine key:

1. Look at the key signature.

2. Use the key signature chart to determine which of two keys it might be (one major, one minor).

3. Look at the final bass note of the piece (lowest note of the final chord). This will tell you which of the two keys it is.

4. (bonus step) Extra information to notice: the name of the final chord, and the final melody note. In many pieces these will all be the same as the final bass note.

Later I'll add more things to look at. For now, try these 4 steps on the following pieces in Alfred's. (Your edition may not have all of these, but it probably has most of them.)

Joy to the World
Cockles and Mussels
On Top of Old Smoky
The Can-Can
The Marine's Hymn
Little Brown Jug
Chipanecas
Auld Lang Syne
O Sole Mio!
Jericho
Greensleeves
Go Down Moses
Raisins and Almonds
The Entertainer

I've left out some pieces because they introduce additional complications. I'll look at those in a subsequent post.

(It took me a while to post because I've never tried to explain key before, and it took me a while to sort out how I wanted to organize it.)