Music Theory Cheat Sheet - Level 1
Here is the Grand Staff with all the note names.
The notes of the staff are organized ABCDEFG,
then starts over.
We organize these into scales. The most common is the
major scale, which is organized into whole and half steps
. The C Major scale (right) uses no accidentals (#’s and
b’s)
However, in order to have the same pattern of
whole and half steps, in other keys, we have to add
accidentals. Look at D Major (left).
We add F# and C# to make the correct pattern.
BUT! Music would be super crowded if we had accidentals everywhere. SO! Music Theory uses key
signatures in order to lessen the amount of accidentals we use in music.
Key Signatures tell the musician where “do” is, or where the center of the key is.
Finding Key signatures
Sharps
Go to the last sharp and go up one pitch to find Do
In this example, the last
note is _______. If we go
up one pitch, that pitch is
________. Which means
Do is _______.
Flats
The second to last flat is Do
In this example, the
second to last flat is
______.
Which makes Do,
_______.
