Key signature · 6♯
F♯ major key signature and D♯ minor
F♯ major and its relative minor, D♯ minor, share a key signature of six sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ and E♯. G♭ major sounds exactly the same with six flats.
- Sharps6
- WhichF♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯
- Relative minorD♯ minor
- Home chordF♯–A♯–C♯
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, A♯ on the second space and E♯ on the top space. In the bass clef the same sharps appear, in the same order, on the bass staff’s F, C, G, D, A and E.
Each one changes that letter everywhere in the piece, in every octave and on both staves: in F♯ major, every F, C, G, D, A and E is sharp, though no sign is written beside the note.
How to recognise it quickly
Look at the last sharp, the one furthest right: E♯. The major key is a half step above it: F♯ major. For the minor key, go down three half steps from there: D♯ minor.
Sharps always come in the same order, so six sharps are always F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ and E♯:
- 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 F♯ major scale
F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – E♯ – F♯. On the piano that’s five black keys (F♯, G♯, A♯, C♯ and D♯) and two white (B and E♯). E♯ is played on a white key (E♯ is F), but spelt that way so every letter appears once. Its home chord is F♯–A♯–C♯.
More on this key: the F♯ major scale with fingering · the F♯ major chord
D♯ minor, the relative minor
D♯ minor uses the same six sharps, starting from D♯, the sixth note of F♯ major: D♯ – E♯ – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯. That’s the natural minor scale. Its home chord is D♯–F♯–A♯.
Pieces in D♯ minor usually raise the seventh note, C♯, to C𝄪 (the harmonic minor), so it leads up to D♯. That C𝄪 is written as an accidental, not in the key signature: a double sharp, since C♯ is already sharp in the key signature is often the quickest clue that a piece is in D♯ minor rather than F♯ major. Pieces also often begin or end on D♯ or its chord.
More on this key: D♯ minor natural minor · D♯ minor harmonic minor · the D♯ minor chord
Music in F♯ major and D♯ minor
Chopin’s Barcarolle Op. 60 is in F♯ major.
Scriabin’s Étude Op. 8 No. 12 is in D♯ minor.
On the circle of fifths
One sharp more is C♯ major, a fifth higher; one sharp fewer is B major, a fifth lower. Keys next to each other on the circle of fifths share all but one note, which is why music in F♯ major moves to them most easily. At this point the circle wraps round: F♯ major and G♭ major are the same keys on the piano, written with six sharps or six flats.
F♯ minor, with the same home note but a minor scale, has a different key signature: three sharps, the same as A 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 F♯ major?
Six sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ and E♯. Every F, C, G, D, A and E in the piece is played sharp, in every octave, unless an accidental says otherwise.
What is the relative minor of F♯ major?
D♯ minor. It shares the key signature (six sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ and E♯)) and starts on the sixth note of the F♯ major scale, three half steps below F♯.
What are the notes of the F♯ major scale?
F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯.
Which key has six sharps?
F♯ major and its relative minor, D♯ minor. G♭ major (six flats) sounds the same, spelt differently.
How do you recognise the F♯ major key signature quickly?
Look at the last sharp, the one furthest right: E♯. The major key is a half step above it: F♯ major. For the minor key, go down three half steps from there: D♯ 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.