# How many musical keys are there and what are they? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971 "2005-09-29T02:47:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/41 "2005-09-30T02:38:46Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > At the risk of showing my ignorance and having all the “music weeds” snorting at me behind their snotty handkerchiefs, Chopin’s Nocturne in C-Sharp minor (1830), featured on Polanski’s _The Pianist_, is so beautiful, soulful and lyrical that something as mundane and tatty as an old suitcase (though invoking mystery - one element, I grant you, of the piece/performance) doesn’t do it justice, to my mind. I must admit I don’t understand **Zebra** ’s description of C sharp minor, as poetic as it is. But this is also the key of Beethoven’s famous “Moonlight” sonata, so it can’t be all that bad. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/42 "2005-09-30T02:42:41Z")
You’ll have me humming that tune from my childhood all day now! “There was was just a-standin’ in the street” ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/43 "2005-09-30T05:39:20Z")
Back to the OP - there’s another explanation of scales, with audio examples, [here](http://www.tonalityguide.com/thchordmajor.php) ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/44 "2005-09-30T14:08:56Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > As to what they are for… > > The Major Keys are for the big things. > > B-flat Major is the house. G Major is for the Car. F major is the store key. > > The minor keys are for small things. > > D minor is to the padlock on the shed. > A minor is a lonely miner. > F minor is the saddest of all keys > C sharp minor is the key to the suitcase you don’t use anymore. > Nobody knows the use for either E flat major or E flat minor. It might have been the key to my mom’s house and a filing cabinet or a locker at some bus station. I think that E flat major is an electric elk called Simon. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/45 "2005-10-04T09:02:47Z")
Is it conventional to present the keys in writing in a certain order (for example, that given by K364)? I’ve also come across that order inverted, i.e. starting with F-sharp major and ending with G-flat. Which is more common? And is it okay to simplify and explain keys to a kid as follows:“There are 12 major keys, one for every letter of the musical alphabet (e.g. A-major, Bb-major, B-major, C-major). Similarly, there are 12 minor keys (e.g. A-minor, Bb-minor, B-minor)”? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/46 "2005-10-04T09:59:16Z")
I’d say that was close enough, with one caveat, thus: Each note can be known by more than one name (B natural or C flat; note that the double-flat and double-sharp names can be discounted). We use a key based on either name _if_ the resulting key signature doesn’t include double sharps or double flats. There are only a few notes for which there are two enharmonic key signatures (C flat and B; F# and G flat; C# and D flat). Other keys would have more than seven sharps or flats, for instance “D# major” which would have nine… so we usually use E flat major instead. But these have a sort of in-between existence, for instance just as a piece in C major can modulate into G major, for which you need an F#, a piece in C# major can modulate into G# major, for which you need an F##. But they’re not represented by actual key signatures; the odd notes are provided with accidentals. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/47 "2005-10-10T16:54:20Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Brilliant! Do you mind if I add this to a sheet I wrote earlier this week explaining relative major/minor keys? 😃 Go ahead. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/48 "2005-10-10T22:43:08Z")
What about the eighty-eight musical keys, them black and white ones, on that there pie-anno? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/49 "2005-10-19T06:36:08Z")
What well known pieces were written in B major? Is it a commonly uses key? If not, why not? There is a reason for all these questions, but it cannot be divulged at the moment! ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/50 "2005-10-19T18:55:17Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > What well known pieces were written in B major? Is it a commonly uses key? If not, why not? > > There is a reason for all these questions, but it cannot be divulged at the moment! Many composers have written collections of pieces which systematically include every key (e.g. Bach’s two _Well-Tempered Clavier_ books which consist of a prelude and a fugue in every key, or Chopin’s _Preludes_ for piano\*. I can’t think off hand of any famous classical pieces in B major, though I’m sure there are at least a few. Incidentally, The Daily Show theme is in B major. It is a less commonly used key, mainly because it doesn’t sit well on most, if not all, instruments. C major is easiest on piano, along with the closely related keys G and F. Various wind instruments are most at home in Bb, Eb, and Ab so those keys are common, especially in jazz. On guitar the open string keys E, A, D, and G are most common. But I just don’t know of any instrument well suited to B major. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/51 "2005-10-19T19:09:11Z")
Oh there is that one really famous short [fugue](http://www.geocities.com/kenny5277/fugue.mid) in B major, composed by yours truly. It’s actually officially in Cb major which is the exact same key as B major. It was written as kind of a joke. My GF’s mother asked my GF “so what’s moe up to, writing a fugue in Cb or something?” So I did. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/52 "2005-10-19T19:11:03Z")
What **Moe** says. Somewhere recently in another music-theory-related thread I compiled a list of violin concertos that are in A, D or G - it covered the majority of the well-known pieces. Because these keys, and their related keys, suit virtuosic idiomatic violin writing perfectly. I can’t off-hand think of any ‘major’ composition in B major. An additional difficulty in a large-scale work in this key is that you would very quickly find yourself dealing with keys at the limits of ‘normality’ in the way we’ve described - even F sharp major, the key which will probably see second-most use in such a piece, introduces the awkwardness of E sharps. So while the key itself isn’t particularly difficult to deal with, the onward implications of using it within tonal music make it an undesirable choice. On the other hand, there’s no shortage of _sections_ of music which use B major, as one part of a larger structure. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/53 "2005-10-19T19:38:23Z")
> [@Moe](#): > > C major is easiest on piano Well, there actually are people who will argue–and do have a point–that B major is actually the easiest key on the piano were it not for the notation. If you want to know why, go play a B major scale on the piano. It’s the key most suited to the shape of your hand. In fact, your can play some blazingly fast riffs in B major that cause you fingers to trip over each other in C major. For the same reason, F is often considered the “fastest” key to play in by blues keyboardists. (F, A-flat, B-flat, B, C, E-flat). As for B-major, while it’s not exactly popular, Schubert has a mass in B-major. Brahm’s First Trio for Piano and Strings is in B-Major.Off hand, Chopin’s got a Prelude, a Nocturne (Op. 9 No. 3, although his No. 1 and No. 2 are the most well-known), a Mazurka, probably an etude or two. It’s out there. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/54 "2005-10-19T20:31:53Z")
String instruments play better in sharp keys. The open strings are all the root tones of sharp keys, which is the main reason, I believe. Wind instruments are virtually all in flat keys - or C - and they tend to play better in those keys. Even an instrument such as a trombone, which is basically a C instrument, has a B flat fundamental. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/55 "2005-10-19T21:06:44Z")
> [@CC](#): > > String instruments play better in sharp keys. The open strings are all the root tones of sharp keys, which is the main reason, I believe. Although the latter statement is correct, this doesn’t necessarily mean that string instruments (by which I presume you mean the violin family) ‘play better’ in sharp keys. As I said, G, D and A are common keys for string writing, because the open strings offer extra resonance, and fast fingerwork & double-stopping is often easier in such keys. But go beyond them, to E or B majors, and these benefits disappear - it’s nothing to do with sharp keys _per se_, but with the specific tunings of the various strings. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/56 "2005-10-19T21:15:33Z")
Yes, better said. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/57 "2005-10-19T21:30:59Z")
[Johannes Brahms Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8](http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=composition&composition_id=2444#) ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/58 "2005-10-20T01:48:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, there actually are people who will argue–and do have a point–that B major is actually the easiest key on the piano were it not for the notation. If you want to know why, go play a B major scale on the piano. It’s the key most suited to the shape of your hand. For a similar reason, accompanists greatly prefer to play Richard Strauss’s song Ständchen in the original key of F# major rather than a transposed key, because all those black notes fit the fingers so well. The piano part, which moves very fast in a sort of pianissimo filigree, is annoyingly difficult in other keys (like D major for low voice, which is easier to read). ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/59 "2005-10-20T03:43:20Z")
> [@rivulus](#): > > The piano part, which moves very fast in a sort of pianissimo filigree, is annoyingly difficult in other keys (like D major for low voice, which is easier to read). I’m not sure I follow, but I am being educated, and your sentence conjures up images of poor Manuel’s “filigree” Siberian hamster, AKA rat! **Moe** , a very pleasant Bachesque interlude to break up my morning’s slog. Incidentally - and I feel I must share something back with you kind people - I found [this website](http://www.flupe.com/lessons/freeLessons/01_foundationLessons/L06_MajorScale_4/major_scale_04.htm) particularly helpful and nonmusician-friendly. Might help you in your tutoring, etc. What’s an “open string”? ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971/60 "2005-10-20T04:14:07Z")
An open string is a note played without pressing down on a fret. Denoted as “0” in tablature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-musical-keys-are-there-and-what-are-they/323971.md?page=4)