Notation & reading
Key signature
A key signature is the group of sharps or flats written at the start of each staff line, indicating which notes are consistently altered throughout the piece.
Sharps always appear in the order F, C, G, D, A, E, B and flats in the reverse order, B, E, A, D, G, C, F. Two shortcuts identify a major key at sight: for sharps, the key is a half step above the last sharp; for flats, the key is the second-to-last flat. Each major key signature is shared with its relative minor, a minor third below.
For a string player the key signature is more than a reading instruction, it determines the hand frame. D major on the violin sets a particular arrangement of high and low second fingers that stays consistent through the piece, so recognising the key means the hand is prepared before the first note.
Related terms
Every term in this glossary is taught in context somewhere in Arco's curricula, on the staff, on the keyboard, and on your own fingerboard at the same time.