7? 12? 24? 48?
For some reason, this is a question that many Musicians and Music Educators answer incorrectly. A quick Google search yields a wrong answer. It’s really quite logical and uses a bit of Music Theory knowledge. As long as you know the order of Flats and the order of Sharps, it’s very easy to understand.
Consider that there is ONE key with NO Sharps nor Flats: The Key of C
There are 7 Flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb creating the Major Keys of F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb and Cb.
That brings the Total so far to 8.
There are 7 Sharps: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, and B# which give us the Major Keys of: G, D, A, E, B, F#, and C#.
Our Total is now 15.
Each Major Key (the Ionian Mode) has a relative minor (the Aeolian Mode), so we need to double the Total, giving us 30 Keys.
Be careful not to confuse the other modes, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Locrian, with Keys. They are scales that are all based on the Major Scale. Think of them as Tonalities instead of Keys.
Understand that Letter names of pitches must be listed in order in a scale and that all 7 must be used only once. The iii chord in the Key of A Major is C# minor… not Db minor, even though those two chords sound alike.
A C7 chord is spelled C-E-G-Bb NOT C-E-G-A#. Even though an A# and Bb have the same PITCH, they are NOT the same note in terms of a scale or chord. This shows an example of “Enharmonics“; one pitch with two names.
Literacy demands that we spell words correctly for their intended meaning. Although they sound alike, the words “their” and “there” have different meanings.
Music is a Language, therefore the same Rules apply.
Hey Dave!
I read through your thought, people’s comments, questions and your replies and answers, I will like to commend that I’ve learnt alot. I understand that we have 7 keys in music followed by 12 keys. I didn’t really get how you get the 15 keys and the 30 keys. Can you please shed more light on that? Thanks.
Thanks for writing.
I’m not sure that I understand what you’re looking for. The concept is pretty clear from the article, questions, and comments.
Simply, there is 1 key with NO key signature: ‘C’. There are 7 keys that use flats and 7 keys that use sharps, giving us a total of 15 Major keys. Each key has a relative minor, which brings us to 30 total keys.
I would offer that your mentioning of 7 keys and 12 keys is adding to your confusion. There are 12 NOTES in western Music, not KEYS.
It may be helpful to think of it as there are 24 keys with 6 more duplicated keys (keys with the same notes but with different names). There’s 12 notes. Each can have a major or minor key that’s 24 keys. Then add 3 duplicated major and 3 duplicated minor keys.
This would probably be easier to understand looking at the circle of fifths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths#/media/File:Circle_of_fifths_deluxe_4.svg
Note there are 3 major keys (on the outside bottom of the circle) that are the duplicated ones that bring the total for major keys from 12 to 15. Db/C#, Gb/F#, and Cb/B. Same notes but thought of differently depending on the context (like enharmonic notes). It’s really just how you think and communicate about the keys.
Hi, interesting stuff. Why does Cb get its own ‘key’ but Fb, B#, and E# don’t? I assume it’s because spelling them out would require use of double-sharps/flats. If so, I think Fb should be the opposite of C with 8 #s because it’s weird for C not to have a partner and double-flats are commonly used in diminished chords, so they don’t feel theoretically off-limits. Super interested in your response to this pedantic question.
Fb, Gb, Ab, Bbb, Cb, Db, Eb
B#, C##, D##, E#, F#, G#, A#
E#, F##,G##, A#, B#, C##, D##,
Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab Bb
You’re right, Cal. Those “keys” don’t exist because of the double flats and double sharps.
Understand, that how you personally think of keys or scales when you’re on the gig doesn’t really matter.
Think of it like this: spelling doesn’t matter when you talk. BUT, when you write it, it does.
Thank so much for writing!
Copyright Victor Wotton
Jay,
Victor teaches it, as do thousands of other Musicians and Music Educators.
After 25+ years of working, touring, playing, and teaching together, Victor and I
along with all of our other colleague, share lots of the the same information.
None of us can lay claim to a copyright on any of it.
Thanks for writing,
Dave
Well when you said each major key has a relative minor key, that relative minor “Key” is no different than any of the other modes. So calling one of the other modes, like Locrian or Lydian a KEY should not be considered confusing them. If the relative minor can be a key then so can any of the other modes because that’s all the relative minor is. A mode. Mode 6 if we’re counting the major scale as mode 1. If one mode can be a key then they all can. None are more valid than the other. We just decided as a western culture that mode 1, the major scale is the one we’d compare everything else to because you have to start somewhere. The way I look at it, none of the modes, and yes the major scale is just a mode…mode 1, are any more valid to use as a key as any other. A key is just that. A device to open a room with specific notes inside. Just looking at a key signature tells you what notes are in the room. Modes tell you how you’re using those notes. Looked at it this way, a key is just the notes in the music unless otherwise stated and all of the modes you can make out of that group as well. So there’s nothing wrong or confusing about saying I’m in the key of D Dorian. That key opens the same room as the C major key and the A minor key. But saying you’re in the key of D Dorian tells you HOW you’re USING the notes in that room. You automatically know that the tonal center will be a D. It’s actually less confusing to use the modes as keys because you know where to start and how to approach. The mode name tells you how you’re using the notes in the room that the key unlocks. Otherwise, how do you write the key signature at the beginning of a piece of music in the Am key? How do we know the music is not C major? Or F Lydian? It’s all of them. If we’re not going to leave it up to the player to figure out that a song is in Phrygian then we have to tell them somehow so saying I’m in E phrygian shouldn’t be anymore confusing as saying I’m in C major or A minor. Those keys are all written the same way and the Major and Minor “keys” are just “Tonalities” like every other mode.
This is the wonderful thing about Music Theory…it’s a THEORY and your thoughts are totally valid if it allows you to effectively communicate in the language.
That said, because of the concept of enharmonics, the theory states that there are 15 Key signatures.
Along the way, some committee decided that every Major Key has 1 relative “minor” key, i.e.. the key signature for C Major is the key signature for A minor. This became the norm in Western Music. The natural minor scale has alterations to make it what WE CALL harmonic minor and melodic minor. They also have the key signature of the relative Major, in this case C Major.
If you base your melody and chord progressions on the C Major scale, but consider D as the home tone, you are said to playing in the dorian mode. The “key” of D dorian can not exist without the key and key signature of C Major. D dorian is IN C Major. F Lydian is IN C Major. A# phrygian in IN F# Major. ‘All Blues’ is written in C Major, but follows a D dorian tonality and scale.
The other beautiful thing about Music Theory is that you can think about it in anyway that you wish and works for you to create and communicate what’s inside you. All are valid and none should be confusing to you.
The Music came first, the analysis and theory came after. The theory norms make it easier to talk about Music when we translate it to English or our native spoken language. Just like grammar. Spelling doesn’t exist when you’re talking.
Try not to overthink it. As long as you are able to communicate what you’re feeling and allow the audience to feel SOMETHING of their choosing, the thought process that you use to get there is irrelevant. The fact that there are 30 keys means NOTHING when you’re playing ‘Giant Steps’ at 260 bpm. If you’re thinking about the key, tonality, or mode, you’re not playing the MUSIC.
Many thanks for taking the time to write.
I appreciate your thoughts and perspective!
Dave
Thank you for this wonderful explanation! It did arise a question, why is minor (Aeolian) considered a key like major(Ionian) when it’s a mode of the major like the others? Wouldn’t all the other modes be considered a key as well in that sense?
Hi Dave, I stumbled across this post quite by accident, but it caught my interest, because you’re right most people (myself included once-upon-a-time) believe 12 tones = 12 keys. 15 took me a long time to get my arms around, but I’m glad I finally did. I also understand that ultimately the rule is there are no rules. While a properly tuned instrument has 12 standard tones that you can use at any given time, many musicians have had success finding tones we would consider “out-of-tune” but still are pleasing in the given context.
Anyway, my question for you is why you chose to view the minor scales as a separate category of scale and not just another mode? To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing unique or special between the Aeolian mode and the other six. In my mind, only the Ionian (major scale mode) is unique because, as you point out, it is the basis of the other six tonalities, among which is thew Aeolian mode.
Is it because of the popularity of the Aeolian (natural minor) mode in Western music? Avoiding delving into modes too early for students’ sake? Personal preference? Or is there something else here that I am missing? Just curious!
Thank you for the original post and for still being there to answer questions on an older post!
Hey Rick, thanks so much for writing.
Your question is an excellent one. You are correct in assuming that the answer lies in Music History.
There is some clarification here, https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/13960/why-is-the-aeolian-mode-the-minor-scale , but it still receives great discussion.
I wish I had a better answer, and hopefully will in the future!
Thanks again,
D
They are is 42 keys in music.
7 natural, 7 sharps, 7 flats =21 major keys
Plus 21 minor keys.
Total 42 keys
Hi Jimmy,
Thanks for writing.
I’m very interested to know what you consider to be “Natural” keys. There are only 2 keys that include
“Natural” pitches: C Major and a minor.
I have to assume you are referring to Modes, which are actually tonalities based the 15 Major scales.
I’m anxious to hear your thinking, as this is first time anyone has suggested that number.
Dave
C, D, E, F, G, A, B
C#, D#, E#, F#, G#, A#, B#
Cb, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb, Ab, Bb
If you want to say all enharmonic spellings are “keys” is what Mike must mean here, but as they say in jazz, it’s all in a-minor 😉
En-harmonic spellings are not keys and I am not suggesting that.
The keys of D#, E#, G#, A#, AND B# do not and cannot exist as they would require double sharps in the key signature in order to follow the RULE of a Major scale which states that each letter in the Musical alphabet must be used IN-ORDER and ONLY once and that the step formula for a Major scale is W-W-h-W-W-W-h. That MUST be followed and cannot be disputed.
BUT, the bottom line (no pun) is that, while you’re PLAYING the GIG, none of it matters.
I would suggest stop looking for roundabout ways to a simple concept and work on the changes to “Stella By Starlight”.
Oh, I’ve never heard a Jazz Musician say that it’s all a-minor. It isn’t.
😉
-D
I remember going round and round with this at Wooten Woods. While the idea that there are exactly 30 keys can be said to be “correct” based on the convention of music terminology, I still question how that would be important or useful – it seems to me it is quite arbitrary, and not naturally significant. Why should just the Ionian and Aeolian modes get all the keys while all the other modes are just “tonalities”? It seems to me every mode represents a tonality. If you exclude tonality from the definition of a key, and limit yourself to a heptatonic/diatonic scale, then there would be 15 keys. If you include tonality in the definition of a key then there would be at least 105 keys. And if you include other pitch sequences or numbers of notes in the scale (such as chromatic, pentatonic, etc.) then there could be many other keys, including many that require nonstandard notation. The 30 major and minor keys are nice, but music is much bigger than that! 🙂
Hey Mike…. Nice to hear from you. Thanks for writing and for your thoughts.
In many ways, you’re correct, and I couldn’t agree with you more
I often ask the question: “Which came first; The Music or the Rules?”
The beautiful thing about Music Theory is that you only need to learn it if you need to learn it. 😉
Yes, all modes create tonalities. The 30 keys that we are talking about here create the diatonic harmony that is generally accepted in Music in the Western World. You can certainly consider the 105 that you suggest, or the hundreds of scales, sequences, and Ragas, etc… from other parts of the world. Personally, I’d rather only think about 30!
I never suggested that you only learn these “keys”. Nor am I suggesting that Music isn’t “much bigger than that”. It certainly is.
It’s inspiring to consider that all that Music is created using only a limited number of notes.
The English language follows a certain number of grammatical rules and generally accepted guidelines, but truly creative writing ventures outside of those ‘walls’ and often doesn’t define or create terms for those variances.
I view the creation of Music in the same way.
Hope to see you again at Wooten Woods. In the meantime…
Pick up your instrument.
Tune it.
Play.
Have fun!
-daw