Music Key Signatures Explained

[rromano4444]

great video!

[Harleken960]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[satchrules101]

your a smart fucker !!

[lesspaul98]

fuk your vids great and helpful im gonna sub;)

[mdiazohh9]

you sound just like ashton kutcher!

[leparditas]

man you smart and i m so stupid !

[skellie151]

Thanks so much - I've been looking for a youtube video that explains this to me for about 2 hours and yours is the best one I've found by a mile!

[TommyBShow]

@skellie151 it took me 40 seconds... lol

[maryannemay]

what a bloody good teacher you are. you explain things so well.keep up the good work. and thank you.

[ILLEAGLExxx]

SH*T, That's why you were confused, it was how to find the key of a song I wanted to know, not how to find the key signature. Oops, I knew I was asking that wrong.

[ILLEAGLExxx]

I've got a question that's been bugging me. How do you find a key signature in a 4/4 time bar if to find a key signature you need a scale that has at least 7 notes. Like what if you had the same 4 notes repeating every bar but they didn't follow the patern of a scale, going up and up and up: abcdefg.... What if you had like aceb or something? I hope I made that question clear enough. :-s

[waltribeiro]

@ILLEAGLExxx usually the baseline is the way to find the key. where the "root" feels like it's going, and winds up at - that's the key.

[ILLEAGLExxx]

@waltribeiro Cool, thanks a lot man and thanks for your tutorials. I can't afford lessons but really want to become a music producer. (electronic music) I guess I'll learn how to find the key using the baseline later on. Do you have a video on that anywhere? If you do I can't see it on your site. Many thanks for all your help. :-D You Rock !

[waltribeiro]

@ILLEAGLExxx hmm, have you checked my website (my name). i'm confused by your question, but tons of tutorials there

[ILLEAGLExxx]

@waltribeiro Thanks a lot man. I figured it out now. Nobody did a very good job of explaining how to find the key of a song. For all of your tutorials and the others I have been watching, Using the circle of 5ths to find the key of a piece was the only thing I got stuck on. Turns out a scale is just notes that work together period and does not necessarily have to be 7 notes going up in a row. Or so I gather so far. I mostly get it now. Thanks for the help and yea I checked your site. :-D

[hypoxisRS]

DUDE THANK YOU SO MUCH!@@@!@$44#

[baldbollocks]

Holy shit...........First impression was "who is this moron' ...Then he explained to me in a few minutes what others have tried to do for months !

I'm sorry I was so wrong. Thanks so much feller !!!

[RealVampire2008]

TNX MATE great lessons!

[noah7500]

Thanks you being helpful.. I had never heard about the circle stuff, buts its really helpful. job well done ... thanks 4 posting dis video

[clamburgler]

you are the best teacher on youtube.



[atechus]

dude, once again your freaking rock with your teaching. I was listening to forchestra . com, and the arrangements are sick, really nice, !!!

[waltribeiro]

@atechus thanks! that means so much to me!

[irishanonymous17]

thank you!!!!!!!! I have my music exam in two days and this helped so much!! :)

[Yourockbabes]

What does it means to be in the key of something? What does it change, how is being in a key of E different from being in a key of D? This is something I have trouble with understanding.

[waltribeiro]

@Yourockbabes more about keys on my website

[Robinsonjames17]

You sound like your from Philadelphia to me.

[waltribeiro]

@Robinsonjames17 bingo. water is pronounced wooder, not walder :)

[14BillyTalent]

Another way to remember the order of sharps is by using 'Father Christmas Goes Down All Escalators Backwards' which taking the firts letter of each word gives you the order os sharps, F,C,G,D,A,E,B

[ahtartersauce101]

All you have to know is violin strings G, D, A, E, which are from 1-4 in the circle, then they are reversed and flattened from 6-3. Then it's just memorizing B and F like F is the only ONE that's not flat. Thank you so much I was so frustrated in music class forever.

[waltribeiro]

@ahtartersauce101 that seems like a confusing way to remember it, but whatever works :)

[KittyChan279]

Thank you soooo much!

[mrshredstarZ]

Do you get paid? You should do! Brilliant stuff! Thank you so much, I wish I took GCSE Music and just watched your videos

[caladbolge]

great teacher!

[RockSignProductions]

brotha, thank you so much bro you are such a nice guy man i appreciate it so much, take care brotha ty, btw could ya make a video on how to notify/tell when someone says this is in the key of A and stuff like that?

[waltribeiro]

@RockSignProductions glad i can help!

[TheUltimateReaper2]

It may sound stupid, but until now I could never understand what the hell what a flat was! Thanks a ton! You put it simply, I understand

[waltribeiro]

@TheUltimateReaper2 yay!

[homermarin]

did you take down the circle of fifths? :(

[waltribeiro]

@homermarin what do you mean?

[noobskatevideos]

thanks so much dude!

[DETROITBULLET]

Isn't the # side of the circle on the right ? and the b flat on the left ,its backwards from what you have demonstrated .

[waltribeiro]

@DETROITBULLET its the same either way. same results. just preference on how to write it

[ropescan]

Very good video, well explained. And educational .Thank U for posting.

[waltribeiro]

@ropescan yay!

[nuker110]

My hero! Awesome! I like my current bass teacher but ... I just couldn't understand the circle of fifths and I didn't get how it would allow me to learn my way around the fret board better

Thanks to you I now understand the purpose of the circle of fifths..although I still don't know how it helps me learn the keys on my fret board like my instructor said...

[waltribeiro]

@nuker110 you rock nuker! more tutorials on my website

[chinoxdark]

Wow you explain way better than my thousand year old teacher :/

[waltribeiro]

@chinoxdark sorry to hear that

[smileyfaces121]

Thank you, you explained it very well

[blackblood11789]

You sound like a good teacher from the videos I've heard but you may want try to slow down just a little (I say that because I'm a bit slow) and you have the circle of fifths backwards from normal text books (not like it's really a bad thing because you had all of the key sigs. correct). I'm pretty good with theory but if I needed to relearn something, I'd go to your vids. I'd also send others here.

[waltribeiro]

@blackblood11789 sorry

[elliotttheone]

You are awsome man, you are the best reading music notes teacher ever Good job bon trabalho!

[killingift]

man you kick so much ass thank you man you are really doing a good job out there because you at least helped one so far dude. to teach music must be pretty cool. anyway thanks you really helped me out. i was having a problem in class and you just cleared it right up.

[canadiantree2000]

Dude I gotta hand it to ya you're prettygood at this, I just started learning piano with a method by Will Barrow (Learn and master Piano) and although the course is pretty good, you did a fine job explaining key signatures, so thank you!!

[waltribeiro]

@canadiantree2000 more about this and more on my website

[johnybravohful]

tnx for sharing your knowledge,,, it realy helps

[Lordwanabe]

very good thank you

[hindisux]

waltribeiro is the most FUCKIN HELPFUL MOTHERFUCKER ON YOUTUBE!

[SaltOfTheWorld]

you are the freakin' awesomest person ever! cheers walt!

[waltribeiro]

@SaltOfTheWorld cool more about this and more on my website

[RavagerStorm]

Nice Exolaination

[6504082jdw]

AHHH so much moar help needed!

[ihrojo]

Awesome!

[eliotsmom]

YOU SOUNDED AS IF YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.yOU DO.

[waltribeiro]

@eliotsmom hahah more on my site

[AndyPipkinsLB]

lol how do you manage to play the first chord of bar six at 1:32? That is one big stretch

[MattHXIV]

thanks man

[aaViCk]

praise the internet :D! Key signatures are the hardest part for me in my music 101 class, im about to take the final that chart is gonna help so much thank you!!

[waltribeiro]

@aaViCk more about key signatures on my website

[RealSkater08]

So say i was in the key of sayyyyyyy F, could i just move the scale of E down 1 fret and that would be in key with the rest of the music? I dont quite understand but yeah

[megsenergy]

I loved this video. I have been through almost a whole semester in my piano class with a professor (beginner) and I gained more from waltribeiro in two videos than I have through the whole semester. Thanks for the clarity. I admire the quality of your solo videos. Subscrption of this one for sure~! I think I might just survive my class now, which means I can teach my children to play (which was my motive for taking the class to begin with.) THANK YOU WALTRIBEIRO!

[waltribeiro]

@megsenergy aweosme more about this and more on my website

[noslenmars]

portuguese ascending, nice video. parabéns!

[waltribeiro]

@noslenmars i'm portugese!

[BRYTwatcher]

VERY NICE

[coopasan9]

Where is part 2? can someone link me, plz?

[nj20baller]

thanks, you actually get straight to the point. I understand because you talk very plain. smart guy.

[ibanezrocker12]

This was a good lesson, but does this guy even look over his own videos before he posts them? It would be easer to take in the valuable information hes talking about if his shit was in higher quality and actually in focus.

[MrPanetela]

interesting turn of events, the day after posting my comment, I found that Avid offers a program called Compose, and I found 2 books on the subject in the bookstore , with a bit more luck I might purchase them. Wishing you all the very best in your musical journeys.

[MrPanetela]

You're correct, utilize it in the clockwise direction to line up your b's n #'s is the best practice procedure. I subscribed to learn how to orchestrate a score. Like many, I can ill afford the time and money to go to a prestigeous school in my area to learn to do it right. Any suggestions Walt, anyone?

[ExpressStaveNotation]

Glad you wrote it round that way. Then the common chord progressions eg D to G to C to F etc, is a clockwise progression. Also the keys on the right (F, Bb major) have black keys on the RIGHT of the black key groups (Bb and Eb), while the keys on the left (G and D major etc ) have black keys staring on the LEFT of the groups (F#, C#).

There are other benefits of drwing the key clock this way as well...

[MrPanetela]

Lastindependentthink, using the circle of 4s counter clockwise play the following: Am Dm G C then repeat. That is a progression. You can do that anywhere on the circle of 4s with as many or few notes as you want. Each note begins a scale. The 1, 3, 5 notes make chords. C, it really isn't all that hard.

[MrPanetela]

randommmetalhead, it doesn't matter which direction you go as long as you are consistant. C>G is a fifth, C-D-E-F-G. F>C is a fifth, F-G-A-B-C. So C is a fifth up from F. The circle is just a metaphor to help you visualize it better. But you can do the whole thing on one hand. Or with rocks, anything at all.

[Lastindependentthink]

I have only just started to learn guitar in the last 3 months, and I have to say this is one of the hardest concepts to try and wrap your brain around? ie the relationship between circle of fifths, keys and scales??

[randommmetalhead]

I've never seen the circle of fifths written that way, usually it is the oposite. it goes C G D... clockwise

[tokixxwartooth]

i'm sure its in fourths instead of fifths so everything is in order just reversed, i've seen it written this way a few times..

[TheGto22]

THANK YOU FOR THE VIDEOS..... you are amazing. Please don't stop. Maybe you should publish some Podcasts.... and then books! I'm serious.

[MrPilki02]

walt =top man

[gasmask4xx]

Thank you very much, I learned how to read notes but did not understand key signatures and was pulling my hair out. Now I understand it. THANKS!!

[Ram0naDee]

awesome stuff, u have helped alot!!!!! looking forward to watchin ur vid on time sigs!! i hate 6/8 time - cant understand the note grouping and cant hear the diff from 3/4 time!!

[zer0dahero]

Wow, good job.

[Guitar0wnage]

how can a e flat have flats and how can a f sharp have more sharps? please explain!

[soudesune20]

wow man, you dont know how much you've help me with your videos, I'VE ONLY WATCHED 2 AND THEY ARE AWESOME! I'M SUBSCRIBING!!!

thanks for your time. i really apreciate it.

[phodem12pm]

if there are 7 sharps or flats then what major are it in? btw thanks.

[bricoak]

Hi. There is no such thing as a major NOTE, only major chords. Notes are either Natural or Sharp. Black or white on the piano.

[yoyoma1428]

ohh circle of fifths :S

[blinkness]

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JaMaph]

"It's cool to me, to kind of teach you stuff, so that means a lot to me..."

Five Stars.

[tasmineb91]

@JaMaph i so agree!

[sciomancy6]

@JaMaph so far that's the only bit of this video that I only listen to. :D

[misssexyibabi]

ur hot...thx for the help!

[Picturebear]

Very helpful. Excellent!

[MinisterialServant]

lol dude you so look like Jack Shepherd o.O

[1BlackSunshine1]

One of the things I don't understand about sheet music is the notes... like at 0:36. That confuses me. Can somebody explain it to me? :)

[NeverThink09]

what if I have seven sharps or seven flats?????

[antoine5612]

LOL, that's not possible...(only 5 black keys on a piano)

[bricoak]

B# is C natural and E# is F natural. Confusing innit.

[drumsoloking101]

How do u no if its major or minor?

[vashlor]

This applies to all major keys

[TheReaoniam]

its cool for you to teach..its cool for me to learn so thank you!! peace man

[siIiconbreastgrandma]

i love you man!! lol

[rexlee50]

this was soooooooooooo helpful. thanx man.

[joeyjamr]

This was soooo helpful you explained it so well....THANKSSSS!!!

[acroflip123]

how do know weather the key signature is in major or minor?

[cheesynickname123yay]

Minor key signature has an accidental at the seventh note, this means that note is raised by half step so if it's a G its going to become a G sharp and if it's a G flat, it's going to become a G.

[peterm3964]

G flat ??????

[WarriorInTheSpirit]

Thanks so much for posting this. I had the hardest time understanding this w/my textbook, but with your video, I got it on the first try, no problem. Thanks again!

[MinxZone]

very good

[nomoboy]

Great video! I finally got it (after watching only one time)

Thanks a million!!

[MEGAFIG]

I'm sure you meant well but this was more confusing than helpful. I think most people would like to see a clear PowerPoint presentation than your face.

[Nizzlemosizzle]

last few days your videos have been really helpful thanks a lot keep it up

[GeneOpera]

This is amazing XD My teacher taught this in a much more confusing way- this makes MUCH more sense ^_^ Thank you so much ^_^

[simon23tnr]

is it applicable to bass clef?

[waltribeiro]

yes!

[Ericclapton325]

my guitar teacher told me too look keys and keys signatures up thanks alot u helped me out alot

[HanQ]

subscribed!!

[mattandhenrygowild]

you should try and get these on itunes i would buy them or hav them as a free app!

[NicFusionaire]

DUDE thanks so much,I have a music test an dthis is really helping me out

[christiancheer]

thanks a lot! i love your videos, they really help me to get how music works :)

[proudemocrat]

u are so awsome!!! Thanks so much! I am trying to learn how to play "How to Save a Life" by The Fray and you taught me perfectly!!! Thanks so much!!!!

[eastlakelax2]

my high school music theory teacher just moved to seattle from russia. his accent is so thick i cant understand a word he says. you are the reason why i am not failing that class. thank you

[nainitra]

You are seriously the BEST!

You really simplified something I couldn't even understand! Thank you...

[bumbulbee999]

yes thx that helps alot!!!

[selby06]

Terrific: However, for most people, this will be almost as difficult as concept of the delta-epsilon proof of the definite limit.

[ls1phsyco]

so how do you know if it's an A major or A minor or so on..

[wh1sk3rs]

Great. Now I'm going to wikipedia to research the delta-epsilon proof because I never understood it in high school.

But this tutorial was great!

[rbl656]

thanks for the video man

[unclesam69]

the little circle of fifths paper you got only works for concert pitched instruments.

for example, if your playing an instrument in Bb... you cant just go straight to the circle of fifths to see what key your in.

it would require a little more thinking since your instrument isnt concert pitched

[chuchuma2007]

Good man. Thanks.

[johandro12]

nice work man, thanks.

[cindyvermillion]

Thanks Walt! You are the best online teacher!

[jonray76]

Just ran across this very informative video on here. AWESOME!! You just unlocked a big mystery to me. I thank you for your time and explanations.

[ufewl]

That's the whole problem.

I ask what is a measure and you say it is 3 beats, I ask how long is beat and you say there are 3 beats in a measure.

Everything is defined in terms of something which is 'defined' in terms of something you have not defined, except by a circular definition which goes round in circles.

You can clap you hands 20 times and say that is 20 beats, but it is not 20 beats per second is it? That is what confuses me.

[waltribeiro]

go to my website under the Videos/Charts tab and watch all those vids about Reading Music/Beats Per measure/etc. It'll help out alot!

[ufewl]

So how long is a measure in seconds oh wise one?

You can't play anything without knowing that.

A glaring omission which makes all your videos on time signatures a waste of mine and your time, or should I say a waste of measure?

Nice try nonetheless.

[waltribeiro]

A measure isn't measured in seconds.. its measured in beats. So if a measure has 4 beats and its a slow tempo, then it'll be played longer than if its a fast beat.

No need to get sarcastic. I wanna help you :)

[ufewl]

Sorry about the sarcasm but I find it really annoying that nobody explains it adequately. I did actually find your videos excellent apart from that one point.(I posted much ruder comments on other people's 'tutorials' :O))

Saying something is slower or faster is meaningless if you are comparing it something you never define. I am forever waiting for them to get to that crucial definition but of course every single one omits it. I have a scientific background you see. Everything must be defined.

[ufewl]

OK from another angle.

You say a measure (bar) is measured in beats.

Now....beats are a measure of frequency, and frequency is measure in beats per second.

So a measure is measured in the the number of beats per second. So if the time sig is 3/4

and the top number is the number of beats *per second* then a measure is 3/4 of a second long? Of course I am assuming 1 beat per second because you did not define how many beats per second and without that nothing can be determined.

[waltribeiro]

OK no.. the top number means beats per measure.. NOT beats per second :)

[ufewl]

For example I have a piece of music and it says 4/4 so there are 4 beats per measure however I can't play that right unless I know there are 75 beats per second

where it says 1/4 note = 75 so then I know there are 75 beats in a minute and so a beat is 60/75 seconds? so 4 beats = 240/75 = 3.2 seconds thus a measure is 3.2 second long?

Is that right?

[BustedKnuckleTech]

I think your looking for time measures, look at a metronom, it gives you a measure of beats. There are various names Largo, Larghet,Adagio... All relate to time measures but how do you find that info, from the music sheet is the real question? Hope this helps you find your answer.

[ufewl]

Well put it this way, all you need to know is the length of a whole note?

With that information you can consign the rest of the nonsense to the dustbin?

You can throw the time signature, the measure and indeed the tempo indicator into the dustbin. Those can all be worked out *easily*.

However you often see sheet music with a lot of that stuff omitted such a tempo, presumable because you *know* how to play it, in which case what is the frigging point of the sheet music!!???

[Sc0000tt]

wicked thanks you help more than my music teacher thanks

[waltribeiro]

Scoot Scoot! Miss ya!

[valvetrom]

I am glad your tone clock runs clockwise, circle of fourth, well done

[waltribeiro]

haha nice. Talk soon!!

[xwsftassell]

Good for you, man. This is a great, creative, progressive use of YouTube.

[waltribeiro]

Thx. Appreciate the kind words!

[JazzyZenBrotha]

Just what I needed! You exlpain this so well.

Thank you so much bro

[waltribeiro]

Glad it helped Jazzy. Don't forget to go to the 'Video/Charts' page at my site and to join the Mailing List.

[ALTITUDE15]

thanks a lot man, your awesome :D

[waltribeiro]

No Altitude, your awesome :)

[lawlsimpopular]

Chris Matthews of music theory. Haha. Helpful videos, mate.

[waltribeiro]

Wow - that's a new title I haven't heard :)

[lawlsimpopular]

Meant that as a compliment! You have similar accents, inflections, and sort of no-nonsense, plain-facts deliveries.

[freezazoid]

you spend all of this time on a video but you can't draw a treble clef properly? Why doesn't you treble clef have a top loop?

[waltribeiro]

HAHA everyone draws it different :)

[lamchau]

keep these up!!!

love the enthusiasm btw