How To Tell The Key Of A Song With Sharps In The Key Signature

Sharps always occur in the same order in a key signature: F, C, G, D, A, E, B. You can find the key of a song when it has sharps by locating the last sharp to the right and going up 1/2 step. Watch this short video and you will understand immediately:

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When there are flats in the key signature, how do you locate the key of the song? It’s easy. Just count down 4 scale degrees and that is the key. Another way to say it is: the next to the last flat in the key signture IS the key. Watch this short video and you’ll understand:

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The key signature at the start of a line of printed music announces both what sharps or flats are being used in the song, as well as what key the song is in. If there is just one flat in the key signature, the flat is always Bb. Two flats in the key signature are always Bb and Eb. 3 flats in the key signature would be Bb, Eb, and Ab. 4 flats would be Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db. Then comes Gb, Cb, and Fb. You can easily remember the order of the flats by spelling the word “BEAD” and then recall the phrase “Go Catch Fish.”
The sharps in a key signature are just reverse from the flats; instead of BEADGCF, the order of the sharps is FCGDAEB. So one sharp in the key signature is F#, 2 sharps in the key signature would be F# and C#, and so on.