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C-flat major is the home key of the harp, with all its pedals in the top position, and it is considered the most resonant key for the instrument.Thus, in Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, the first cue for the harps is written in C-flat major even though the rest of the orchestra, having previously played in E-flat major, retains a 3-flat key signature and is now playing in B major, marked ...
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp ( ♯ ), flat ( ♭ ), or rarely, natural ( ♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line. If the piece contains a section in a different key, the ...
Notes that are shown as sharp or flat in a key signature will be played that way in every octave—e.g., a key signature with a B ♭ indicates that every B is played as a B ♭. A key signature indicates the prevailing key of the music and eliminates the need to use accidentals for the notes that are always flat or sharp in that key. A key ...
In rare cases, the flat keys may be extended further: F ♭ → B → E → A → D → G → C. requiring double flats in the key signature. These are called theoretical key signatures, based on the impracticality of their use, rather than the simpler, equivalent key in 12 TET. This principle applies similarly to the sharp keys.
Following the clef, the key signature is a group of 0 to 7 sharp or flat signs placed on the staff to indicate the key of the piece or song by specifying that certain notes are sharp or flat throughout the piece, unless otherwise indicated with accidentals added before certain notes.
There is a long tradition in classical music of writing music in sets of pieces that cover all the major and minor keys of the chromatic scale. These sets typically consist of 24 pieces, one for each of the major and minor keys (sets that comprise all the enharmonic variants include 30 pieces). Examples include Johann Sebastian Bach 's The Well ...
Key signature names and translations. When a musical key or key signature is referred to in a language other than English, that language may use the usual notation used in English (namely the letters A to G, along with translations of the words sharp, flat, major and minor in that language): languages which use the English system include Irish ...
In most cases, a sharp raises the pitch of a note one semitone while a flat lowers it one semitone. A natural is used to cancel the effect of a flat or sharp. This system of accidentals operates in conjunction with the key signature, whose effect continues throughout an entire piece, or until another key signature is indicated.