The Order of Sharps and Flats

1. Theory 13 The Order of Sharps and Flats

2. Key Signatures come after the clef and before the time signature. They simply tell us which notes to always play sharp or flat in the music. In this example, we’d play every B In the song as a Bb.

3. The Order of Flats • B, E, A, D, G, C, F • The easiest way to remember this is to think BEAD, Go Call Fred • Hopefully you won’t have to call Fred too often B E A D G C F

4. The Order of Sharps • F, C, G, D, A, E, B • Farmer Charlie Gunned Down An Easy Bear • First Charlie Goes Down And Eats Breakfast F C G D A E B

5. What is flat in this example?

6. What is sharp in this example?

7. Individual Practice • Write your name on the top of your page. • For each key signature, name the sharps or flats in the correct order. • There are 10 questions.

18. Answers

19. The four flats in order are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db

20. The two sharps in order are F# and C#

21. The four sharps in order are F#, C#, G#, D#

22. The three flats in order are Bb, Eb, Ab

23. The six flats in order are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb

24. The five sharps in order are F#, C#, G#, D#, A#

25. The only sharp is F#

26. The six sharps are F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#

27. The four flats are Bb, Eb, Ab, Db,

28. The two flats are Bb and Eb