How to Identify Minor Key Signatures|The Solfeggio-Chromatic Scale

In the tutorial regarding Music Theory for Singers, I have introduced the major and minor key signatures but the presentation is too theoretical. In Part 2, I will give a series of examples on how to illustrate using those principles in actual musical notation with a music sheet.

Exercise Number 1: Identify the key signature of this music:



Since there are 3 sharps, according to the table in the music theory for singers, it is A major, hey wait…but the 1st note is fa # or F#, so it should be the minor. The final answer is that the key signature of the above screen shot is F sharp minor.

Exercise Number 2: Identify again the key signature of the music shown below:



Well, since there are no sharp or flats. By principle it should be a C major key. You may asked, how I know the minor of C major. The minor of C major is A minor. A minor like its major does NOT also have sharp or flats.

A minor can be identified if the first note is La (A note) and there are no sharp or flats in the staff.

Exercise Number 3: What is the key signature below?



The first note is re (D note) and there is one flat. It is a D minor key signature.

Exercise Number 4: Is it in E minor or a G major key signature?



It is not an E minor key because the first note is not “mi” (E note). So since there is one sharp in the staff and it is not starting in mi note, therefore the above key signature is in G major.

The Solfeggio-Chromatic Scale Equivalent in Musical Notation:

Chromatic scale is using letters (A, B, C, etc) while the solfeggio notation is not. I highly recommend you will memorize this one for easier interpretation of musical notations:

Chromatic in sharp progression – Solfeggio Equivalent:
A – la
A#- la#
B- ti
C- do
C# - do sharp
D- re
D#- re sharp
E – mi
F – fa
F# - fa sharp
G – so
G# - so sharp
A – la

Chromatic in flat progression (pitch the same as above, but presented in flat rather than sharp)
A –la
Bb – ti flat
B – ti
C- do
Db- re flat
D – re
Eb – mi flat
E – mi
F – fa
Gb – so flat
G – so
Ab – la flat
A – la

Therefore with the above given progression, we can say that the following is just the same, or in equivalent pitch:

A# - Bb = la sharp or ti flat
C# - Db = do sharp or re flat
D#- Eb = re sharp or mi flat
F#- Gb = fa sharp or so flat
G# - Ab = so sharp or la flat

If you play a chromatic progression in the piano, the sharp or flats are using the black color keys of the piano.

Music Theory for Singers Part1: Piano notes and Key Signature

If you are a singer, you will be required sometime in your career to read and sing musical notes from music sheets. This might sound scary as it looks difficult for first timers. Record producers are expecting professional singers to sing directly from the musical sheet without even using a piano. This needs a thorough training on the music theory.

The strategy is to be familiar with the pitch first by playing the piano, then gradually memorizing the key signatures, notes affected etc.; until you can sing independently.

By following this guide, it will speed up the note reading process which you can implement when you play piano and singing those notes. Let’s get started:

STEP1. Be familiar with the notes on the piano and its equivalent placement on the musical staff. The notes on the piano are as follows:



Shown in the screenshot is just one octave of voice ranges – from Low D (or low “re” note) to High D (but it actually shows more than that up to high G note). If you are playing on a multi-octave piano, the notes will still be the same, just follow the pattern as shown above. Standard piano has around 7 octaves, so imagine that the above screenshot has been replicated 7 times in a row.

Tips for further improvement: Practice ear training by memorizing the standard pitch of the piano (whole octave including sharp or flats) and mimic it by singing. In this way, even without the use of a piano, you can sing the notes at the correct pitch. If you do not have a piano, you can start practicing here: http://method-behind-the-music.com/piano

STEP2. Identify the key signature of the music sheets. The key signature defines the sound of the music sheet you are going to interpret by singing. It tells you what notes needs to raised half step (#) or low step (flat). You can determine the key signature by counting the number of sharp (#) or flats (b).

Flat major scale mnemonics:

Fat – F major scale – one flat
Boy – Bb major scale – two flats
Eats – Eb major scale – three flats
Apple – Ab major scale – four flats
During – Db major scale – five flats
Good -Gb major scale – six flats
Christmas – Cb major scale – seven flats

Sharp major scale mnemonics:

Go – G major scale – one sharp
Down – D major scale – two sharps
And – A major scale – three sharps
Eat – E major scale – four sharps
Before - B major scale – five sharps
Father – F# major scale - six sharps
Comes – C# major scale – seven sharps

The number of sharps or flats can be found right in the beginning of the musical sheet. You will need to memorize the above table for convenience.

STEP3. Identify whether the music you are playing is a MINOR of the major scale above. You can determine this by identifying the FIRST NOTE in the music sheet:

Flat major scale and its equivalent minor with minor notes

F major scale – D minor– re
Bb major scale – G minor- so
Eb major scale – C minor – do
Ab major scale – F minor – fa
Db major scale – Bb minor - ti
Gb major scale – Eb minor – mi flat
Cb major scale – Ab minor – la flat

Sharp major scale and its equivalent minor key with minor notes

G major scale – E minor = mi
D major scale – B minor = ti
A major scale – F sharp minor = fa sharp
E major scale – C sharp minor = do sharp
B major scale – G sharp minor = so sharp
F# major scale – D sharp minor = re sharp
C# major scale – A sharp minor = la sharp

Refer to the part 2 of this tutorial: How to Identify Minor Key Signatures|The Solfeggio-Chromatic Scale.