NotePlayMusicGrade 2: Keys and Scales Practice
Practise A and B flat major signatures, E flat major scales and degrees, and comparing likely keys for short F major and E harmonic minor melodies.
Worksheet
Select the correctly written key signature of A major.
Answer: ______________________
Select the correctly written key signature of B flat major.
Answer: ______________________
Which key best fits this melody among the choices?
Answer: ______________________
Which key best fits this melody among the choices?
Answer: ______________________
True or false: this is the fifth degree of E flat major.
Answer: ______________________
Select the correctly written scale of E flat major, descending.
Answer: ______________________
Answer Key
- option 1 — A major has three sharps: F sharp, C sharp and G sharp.
- option 1 — B flat major has two flats: B flat and E flat.
- E minor — Among these choices, E minor fits the E-centred phrase and its F sharp and D sharp. D sharp is the raised seventh in E harmonic minor; this example writes both sharps as accidentals rather than in the key signature. A short phrase alone need not prove a key.
- F major — F major is the best fit among these choices: the phrase begins with F, A and C, uses B flat, and settles on F. Those clues suggest a tonal centre, but a short phrase alone cannot prove a key.
- TRUE — The note is B flat. The fifth degree of E flat major (E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat) is indeed B flat, so the statement is true.
- option 1 — E flat major descending is E flat, D, C, B flat, A flat, G, F, E flat. The other options cancel a flat with a natural on A or B.
1. Select the correctly written key signature of A major.
💡 Recall the altered notes in this major key, then compare both the number and order of signs shown.
2. Select the correctly written key signature of B flat major.
💡 Recall the flats in this key, then count the signs in each bass-clef signature.
3. Which key best fits this melody among the choices?
💡 Compare the opening and closing notes with the altered notes, and ask which choice fits those clues best. A short phrase is not proof by itself.
4. Which key best fits this melody among the choices?
💡 Consider the opening notes, the closing note and any written accidental together; do not rely on the final note alone.
5. True or false: this is the fifth degree of E flat major.
💡 Count the tonic as degree one, include each letter in order, and compare the resulting pitch with the written accidental.
6. Select the correctly written scale of E flat major, descending.
💡 Read the key signature first, then follow each descending letter and check whether an added natural changes it.
What this practice covers
- Identify A major and B flat major key signatures.
- Compare possible keys using melodic evidence.
- Read the E flat major scale and its fifth degree.
Need a reminder? Build a key signature, then check the scale and its degrees
A major scale follows the tone pattern tone–tone–semitone–tone–tone–tone–semitone. Its key signature collects the sharps or flats that recur: A major has F sharp, C sharp and G sharp; B flat major has B flat and E flat. E flat major has B flat, E flat and A flat, and the same three flats apply when its scale descends.
A minor melody needs more than a signature to identify its key. E minor shares the one-sharp signature of G major, but a melody centred on E and using a raised D sharp leading note points toward E harmonic minor. That raised seventh is usually written as an accidental, not added to the key signature.
How to work it out
- For a signature or scale, name the tonic, list the required altered letters, and read every written note in the correct direction.
- For a scale degree, count the tonic as one and keep each accidental: in E flat major the fifth note is B flat.
- For a melody key, check its tonal centre and characteristic altered notes, not just the shared signature of relative major and minor.
Worked example
What pitches are degrees 4 and 5 of E flat major?
Count E flat (1), F (2), G (3), A flat (4), B flat (5). Both notes retain their flats even if the melody is descending.
Watch for this mistake
A key signature does not by itself prove a minor key. D sharp in an E-minor melody is the raised seventh; a one-sharp signature alone could also belong to G major.
Why does F major have a B♭?
Hear the major scale pattern, watch it break when you start on F, and see why one flat in the key signature fixes it.