Table of Contents
Music Theory
For
Orchestra
Music Clefs ..................................................................................... 3
Treble Clef................................................................................... 3
Alto Clef ...................................................................................... 4
Bass Clef ..................................................................................... 5
Time Signatures .............................................................................. 6
Key Signatures ................................................................................ 7
Writing Key Names ..................................................................... 7
Order of Sharps and Flats ............................................................ 7
SHARP ORDER ...................................................................... 7
FLAT ORDER ......................................................................... 7
Major Key Signatures.................................................................. 8
♯Sharp Keys♯ ........................................................................... 8
♭Flat Keys♭ .......................................................................... 9
Minor Key Signatures ............................................................... 10
Relative Minor Key Signatures ................................................. 10
♯Relative Minor Sharp Key Signatures♯ ............................... 10
♭Relative Minor Flat Key Signatures♭ .............................. 11
Parallel Minor Key Signatures .............................................. 12
2
Music Clefs
Basic knowledge of the names of the lines and spaces of the music
clef for your instrument is essential for reading music as well as
the study of music theory.
Alto Clef
Treble Clef
The names of the lines of the alto clef from bottom to top are:
Fred And Carol Eat Grapes
The names of the lines for the treble clef from bottom to top are:
Elvis’ Guitar Broke Down Friday
The names of the spaces of the alto clef from bottom to top are:
Even Greta’s Bird Does Fly Above
The names of the spaces for the treble clef from bottom to top are:
Does Fred And Carol Eat Grapes
3
4
Time Signatures
The top number tells how many beats or counts are in a measure
and can be any number.
Bass Clef
The names of the lines for the bass clef from bottom to top are:
Go Bring Diamonds From Africa
The bottom number tells which note gets the beat or count. The
bottom number can only be the numbers listed below.
1 = whole note
2 = half note
4 = quarter note
8 = eighth note
16 = sixteenth note
(note the pattern 1+1=2, 2+2=4, 4+4=8, 8+8=16, etc. . .)
Whenever you see a C in place of the time signature, it means
common or 4/4 time.
The names of the spaces for the bass clef from bottom to top are:
Fred And Carol Eat Grapes Bravely
5
Whenever you see a C with a slash through it in place of the time
signature, it means cut or 2/2 time.
6
Key Signatures
Writing Key Names
When writing key names it is standard practice to write major key
signature names in capital letters and minor key names in lower
case letters. The example below shows the correct way to write the
key of C Major and c minor
Major Key Names
C
CM
C Major
Minor Key Names
c
cm
c minor
Order of Sharps and Flats
Major Key Signatures
♯Sharp Keys♯
1. Go up one line or space from the last sharp to the right.
2. If there is a sharp on the line or space, add a sharp to the key name.
(F# and C#)
C Major = 0 sharps
G Major = 1 sharp
D Major = 2 sharps
A Major = 3 sharps
E Major = 4 sharps
B Major = 5 sharps
F# Major = 6 sharps
C# Major = 7 sharps
Note: The key of C Major does not follow the rules so it has to be
memorized. The key of C Major has no sharps or flats.
The sharps and flats are written on the staff in the following order:
SHARP ORDER
FCGDAEB
Fat Carnivores Go Down And Eat Barney
FLAT ORDER
BEADGCF
Barney Eats And Does Go Crazy First
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8
Minor Key Signatures
There are two types of minor key signatures: Relative and Parallel
Relative Minor Key Signatures
♭Flat Keys♭
♭
1. Second to last flat, whether on line or space, is the name of the key.
2. If there are 2 flats or more in the key signature, add a flat as part of
key name.
F Major = 1 flat
B Major = 2 flats
E Major = 3 flats
A Major = 4 flats
D Major = 5 flats
G Major = 6 flats
C Major = 7 flats
♭
♭
♭
♭
♭
♭
Note: The key of F Major does not follow the rules so it has to be
memorized. The key of F Major has 1 flat.
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Relative Major and minor keys share the same key signature (sharps and
flats) but have different names.
To find the relative minor key of a major key:
1. Find the major key name and count down three or up six notes from
the major key name.
2. If the line or space of the minor key name has a sharp or flat, include
a sharp or flat in the minor key name.
♯Relative Minor Sharp Key Signatures♯
C Major / a minor= 0 sharps and flats
G Major / e minor = 1 sharp
D Major / b minor = 2 sharps
A Major / f# minor = 3 sharps
E Major / c# minor = 4 sharps
B Major / g# minor = 5 sharps
F# Major / d# minor = 6 sharps
C# Major / a# minor = 7 sharps
10
Parallel Minor Key Signatures
Parallel major and minor keys share the same name, but use
different key signatures.
♭Relative Minor Flat Key Signatures♭
♭
F Major / d minor = 1 flat
B♭ Major / g minor = 2 flats
E♭ Major / c minor = 3 flats
A♭ Major / f minor = 4 flats
D♭ Major / b♭ minor = 5 flats
G♭ Major / e♭ minor = 6 flats
C♭ Major / a♭ minor = 7 flats
♭’s or ♯’s
Major Key
Minor Key
0
C
c
1#
G
g
2#
D
d
3♯
A
a
0
4♯
E
e
1♯
5♯
B
b
2♯
6♯
F♯
f♯
3♯
7♯
C♯
c♯
4♯
♭
2♭
3♭
4♭
5♭
6♭
F
f
♭
E♭
A♭
D♭
G♭
♭
e♭
a♭
d♭ (c♯)
g♭(f♯)
7♭
C♭
♭
c♭
♭(b)
1
11
B
b
12
♭’s or ♯’s
♭
2♭
1♭
3
♭
5♭
6♭
7♭
4
Created for
Centennial and Kaysville
Junior High Orchestras
By Mr. Kemp
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