Key signature · 5♯
B major key signature and G♯ minor
B major and its relative minor, G♯ minor, share a key signature of five sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ and A♯. C♭ major sounds exactly the same with seven flats.
- Sharps5
- WhichF♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯
- Relative minorG♯ minor
- Home chordB–D♯–F♯
The key signature
The sharps come right after the clef, on every line of music. In the treble clef: F♯ on the top line, C♯ on the third space, G♯ on the space above the staff, D♯ on the fourth line and A♯ on the second space. In the bass clef the same sharps appear, in the same order, on the bass staff’s F, C, G, D and A.
Each one changes that letter everywhere in the piece, in every octave and on both staves: in B major, every F, C, G, D and A is sharp, though no sign is written beside the note.
How to recognise it quickly
Look at the last sharp, the one furthest right: A♯. The major key is a half step above it: B major. For the minor key, go down three half steps from there: G♯ minor.
Sharps always come in the same order, so five sharps are always F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ and A♯:
- F♯
- C♯
- G♯
- D♯
- A♯
- E♯
- B♯
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle: the order of sharps, and backwards, the order of flats.
The B major scale
B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B. On the piano that’s five black keys (C♯, D♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯) and two white (B and E). Its home chord is B–D♯–F♯.
More on this key: the B major scale with fingering · the B major chord
G♯ minor, the relative minor
G♯ minor uses the same five sharps, starting from G♯, the sixth note of B major: G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯. That’s the natural minor scale. Its home chord is G♯–B–D♯.
Pieces in G♯ minor usually raise the seventh note, F♯, to F𝄪 (the harmonic minor), so it leads up to G♯. That F𝄪 is written as an accidental, not in the key signature: a double sharp, since F♯ is already sharp in the key signature is often the quickest clue that a piece is in G♯ minor rather than B major. Pieces also often begin or end on G♯ or its chord.
More on this key: G♯ minor natural minor · G♯ minor harmonic minor · the G♯ minor chord
Music in B major and G♯ minor
Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 3 is in B major.
Liszt’s La Campanella is in G♯ minor.
On the circle of fifths
One sharp more is F♯ major, a fifth higher; one sharp fewer is E major, a fifth lower. Keys next to each other on the circle of fifths share all but one note, which is why music in B major moves to them most easily. At this point the circle wraps round: B major and C♭ major are the same keys on the piano, written with five sharps or seven flats.
B minor, with the same home note but a minor scale, has a different key signature: two sharps, the same as D major.
Quiz: name the key signature
Ten key signatures in the treble or bass clef, from all fifteen. Choose the key, or play its home note on the piano below, a MIDI keyboard or your computer keys (any octave).
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Questions
How many sharps are in B major?
Five sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ and A♯. Every F, C, G, D and A in the piece is played sharp, in every octave, unless an accidental says otherwise.
What is the relative minor of B major?
G♯ minor. It shares the key signature (five sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ and A♯)) and starts on the sixth note of the B major scale, three half steps below B.
What are the notes of the B major scale?
B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A♯, B.
Which key has five sharps?
B major and its relative minor, G♯ minor. C♭ major (seven flats) sounds the same, spelt differently.
How do you recognise the B major key signature quickly?
Look at the last sharp, the one furthest right: A♯. The major key is a half step above it: B major. For the minor key, go down three half steps from there: G♯ minor.
Keys, one at a time
Pianomi, a free sight-reading app for piano, brings in key signatures one at a time and notices when you play a note as if the key signature weren’t there.