Modified CO5 (to accommodate the extremes). So there you have it: starting between F and B-flat, the order of sharps goes clockwise around the circle, and the order of flats goes counter-clockwise around the circle.Ĭomments for Order of Sharps and Flats in Key Signatures Those are the 4 places on the staff you put the flats when writing the key signature. So you write flat signs on the B, E, A, and D lines/spaces. Looking at the imaginary line, you see going counter-clockwise from it, the letter names are B-flat, E-flat, A-flat, and D-flat. Look on the circle of fifths, the first 2 letters going clockwise from that line are F and C.Įxample #2: You are writing the key signature for A-flat. The first sharp goes on F and the second goes on C. The letters are the lines/spaces you would write the sharp/flats on when you are writing the key signature.Įxample #1: You are writing the key of D. Here is how you can use the Circle of Fifths to learn the order of sharps and flats in key signaturesĭraw an imaginary line between F and B-flat on the circle of fifths. You find the second to last flat in this sequence: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭, here it is A♭ (A flat), so you know that the name of the key signature is A flat Major.Order of Sharps and Flats in Key Signatures With the order of flats, you have this: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ Imagine you have this (4 flats in the key signature) With the order of flats, you can find the name of the key signature: With the order of flats in mind, you immediately know the altered notes you will find in the score: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭ and you will know that the previous score is just like this: Imagine you have 4 flats in the key signature: Knowing all altered notes in your music score ( music notes with accidentals, flats in this case) With the order of flats always in mind you will be able to: Why to learn by heart the order of flats? Or with this sentence: Before Eating A Doughnut, Get Coffee First. Another way to remember this is BEAD Go Catch Fish. Another trick to memorize the orders of flats with the next sentence: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father Memorize the word BEAD plus three letters GCF. There are several mnemonic tricks to memorize the order of flats B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭:

The order of flats is: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭

Order of flats and sharps