F minor how many flats

To understand why the F minor scale has 4 flats, have a look at the F natural minor scale page, which shows how to identify the note positions and names for this scale. Since this is a flat-based key signature, the music theory rules for constructing key signatures containing flats are covered in the next step. The key signature is set of sharps or flats never mixed shown after the treble or bass clef on the musical staff.

The key signature symbols are always shown in the same order, no matter what the order of the actual notes on the staff. For a flat-based key signature like this scale , the order is easily remembered using the following phrase, whose first letters indicate the note name to be flattened:.

So if the scale contains note Bb , this is always the first flat key signature symbol shown next to the treble or bass clef in the note B staff position middle line. Then the same for Eb in the second position, and so on for all the words in the phrase. The B attle E nds.. Taking the 1st letter of the 1st word in the phrase - B , the 4th note of the major scale with its name as the tonic - B major scale is note E the 2nd word of the phrase.

Now take the 4th note of the major scale whose tonic is E - the E major scale - this is note A the 3rd word of the phrase. Now take the 4th note of the major scale whose tonic is A - the A major scale - this is note D the 4th word of the phrase , and so on. Put another way, if you see a key signature with 1 flat symbol, that flat will always be Bb the first phrase word. Or if a key signature with 2 flats, those flats will always be Bb and Eb.

To learn more about these patterns, have a look at Learn the circle of fifths. The above rules apply to flat-based key signatures - sharp based key signatures have a similar set of rules, with the above phrase reversed.

Have a look at the C major key signature. The staff above is to demonstrate all possible flat symbol positions in a key signature. The accidentals are written in the same order and pattern on the staff. Write a B b -minor key signature:. Write a C -minor key signature:. Parallel keys, as discussed in Chapter 7 , are keys that share the same tonic. C major and C minor, for example, are parallel keys:. C minor is the parallel minor of C major, and vice versa. C major, to use this example, has no sharps or flats while C minor requires three flats.

Parallel keys have a strong relationship with one another. Despite having only four of their seven scale degrees in common, the shared tonic tends to lead listeners to hear them as different versions of the same key as opposed to being completely foreign to one another.

There are, however, some pairs of major and minor keys that have the exact same key signature. These are known as relative keys and they too have a strong relationship with one another.

E b major and C minor, for example, both have three flats in their key signature:. C minor is the relative minor of E b major and E b major is the relative major of C minor.

They share all of the same pitch classes, but emphasize different notes as the tonic. The tonic of any minor key is always a minor third below its relative major: in this case, C is a minor third below E b. This system draws attention to the fact that a major scale and its relative minor use the same set of pitch classes with minor starting two steps lower down.

B b major. As with major keys, minor keys are based on the pitches of the corresponding scale and are indicated by key signatures at the beginning of each new line of music. Minor key signatures are derived from the diatonic version of the minor scale. Minor key signatures look just like major key signatures and follow the same pattern and placement on the staff.

Minor keys can be closely related to major keys in several different ways. Parallel keys —C major and C minor, for example—share the same tonic. Relative keys —C minor and E b major, for example—have different tonics but share the same key signature.

Every key signature, then, can be used to represent two different relative keys. Skip to content I. Example 9—2. Example 9—3. Be sure to check out the Piano For All piano lessons. Major 2nd: G is the 2nd note of the scale. Minor 3rd: Ab is the 3rd note of the scale. Perfect 4th: Bb is the 4th note of the scale. Perfect 5th: C is the 5th note of the scale. Minor 6th: Db is the 6th note of the scale.

Minor 7th: Eb is the 7th note of the scale. Perfect 8th: F one octave higher is the 8th note of the B natural minor scale. What are the fingerings for the F minor scale? Chord i: F minor. Its notes are F — Ab — C. Chord ii: G diminished. Its notes are G — Bb — Db. Chord III: Ab major. Its notes are Ab — C — Eb. Chord iv: Bb minor. Its notes are Bb — Db — F. Chord v: C minor. Its notes are C — Eb — G.

Chord VI: Db major. Its notes are Db — F — Ab. Chord VII: Eb major. Its notes are Eb — G — Bb. Major 2nd: The 2nd note of the scale is G. Minor 3rd: The 3rd note of the scale is Ab.