If you only ever wanted to play and write songs in the key of C major life would be simple.

You would never have to deal with sharps or flats.

However if you wanted instead to play in the key of E major you would need to alter your C major scale using four sharps to maintain the major scale formula:

W, W, H, W, W, W, H

The C Major Scale vs. The E Major Scale

So how do you keep track of which sharps and flats different major scales need?

Luckily, there are a few tricks to help you remember that.

Simply memorize the sentences below, once you do the rest is easy.

Sharps: are added to scales in a certain order (F, C, G, D, A, E, B) or:

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battles

Flats: are added in the opposite order (B, E, A, D ,G ,C ,F) or:

Battles End And Down Goes Charlie’s Father

Now you’re ready to figure out some key signatures. Let’s take a look at how to do that.

Image by Meredith Englund