Key signature · 4♯
E major key signature and C♯ minor
E major and its relative minor, C♯ minor, share a key signature of four sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯.
- Sharps4
- WhichF♯ C♯ G♯ D♯
- Relative minorC♯ minor
- Home chordE–G♯–B
The key signature
The sharps come right after the clef, on every line of music. In the treble clef: F♯ on the top line, C♯ on the third space, G♯ on the space above the staff and D♯ on the fourth line. In the bass clef the same sharps appear, in the same order, on the bass staff’s F, C, G and D.
Each one changes that letter everywhere in the piece, in every octave and on both staves: in E major, every F, C, G and D is sharp, though no sign is written beside the note.
How to recognise it quickly
Look at the last sharp, the one furthest right: D♯. The major key is a half step above it: E major. For the minor key, go down three half steps from there: C♯ minor.
Sharps always come in the same order, so four sharps are always F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯:
- F♯
- C♯
- G♯
- D♯
- A♯
- E♯
- B♯
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle: the order of sharps, and backwards, the order of flats.
The E major scale
E – F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D♯ – E. On the piano that’s four black keys (F♯, G♯, C♯ and D♯) and three white (E, A and B). Its home chord is E–G♯–B.
More on this key: the E major scale with fingering · the E major chord
C♯ minor, the relative minor
C♯ minor uses the same four sharps, starting from C♯, the sixth note of E major: C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯. That’s the natural minor scale. Its home chord is C♯–E–G♯.
Pieces in C♯ minor usually raise the seventh note, B, to B♯ (the harmonic minor), so it leads up to C♯. That B♯ is written as an accidental, not in the key signature: the sharp beside the note is often the quickest clue that a piece is in C♯ minor rather than E major. Pieces also often begin or end on C♯ or its chord.
More on this key: C♯ minor natural minor · C♯ minor harmonic minor · the C♯ minor chord
Music in E major and C♯ minor
“Spring” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is in E major.
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 are both in C♯ minor.
On the circle of fifths
One sharp more is B major, a fifth higher; one sharp fewer is A major, a fifth lower. Keys next to each other on the circle of fifths share all but one note, which is why music in E major moves to them most easily.
E minor, with the same home note but a minor scale, has a different key signature: one sharp, the same as G major.
Quiz: name the key signature
Ten key signatures in the treble or bass clef, from all fifteen. Choose the key, or play its home note on the piano below, a MIDI keyboard or your computer keys (any octave).
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Questions
How many sharps are in E major?
Four sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯. Every F, C, G and D in the piece is played sharp, in every octave, unless an accidental says otherwise.
What is the relative minor of E major?
C♯ minor. It shares the key signature (four sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯ and D♯)) and starts on the sixth note of the E major scale, three half steps below E.
What are the notes of the E major scale?
E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D♯, E.
Which key has four sharps?
E major and its relative minor, C♯ minor.
How do you recognise the E major key signature quickly?
Look at the last sharp, the one furthest right: D♯. The major key is a half step above it: E major. For the minor key, go down three half steps from there: C♯ minor.
Keys, one at a time
Pianomi, a free sight-reading app for piano, brings in key signatures one at a time and notices when you play a note as if the key signature weren’t there.