How many keys are there

We also don't have signatures for any of the non major or minor scales such as the modal scales when key isn't on, say D of dorian scale, etc , pentatonic, etc. So no standard for all possible scales exists as far as I know. If you use equal temperament there will be 12 major keys and 12 minor keys, or 24 all together, as others have said on here. You have C Major that has no sharps and then you have seven scales that go from one sharp to seven sharps.

You also have C major that has no flats and then you have seven keys that go from one flat to seven flats. That gives you 15 keys but as you know you only have twelve notes in the chromatic scale. That is why you have three pairs of keys that are enharmonically speaking identical. So now you have a system where all the twelve notes in the chromatic scale have a corresponding key Some have two and you have keys that vary from 0 - 7 sharps and the same for flats. All your bases are covered now.

As for the relative keys each one of the 15 has its own relative key, so now we are talking about 30 keys for both minor and Major. Practical soul that I am, I say there are as many keys as there are notes in the chromatic scale, times the number of modes.

That gives me 84, if my arithmetic skills serve me correctly. Of course, if there are only two modes anymore, then the number is One way of looking at it would be this: There are 12 different pitches in relative pitch, so a major and minor for each of these means there are 24 keys.

However, each of these apart from C and Am is in a sharp or flat key, so there is an enharmonic key for each of these with the opposite, either flats or sharps. As for C and Am, these are not either sharp or flat keys, and so need a sharp and flat key each. This leaves us with 50 different keys. However, this also leaves us with keys such as G double-sharp minor, which has 2 sharps and 5 double-sharps. Sign up to join this community.

The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How many major and minor keys are there?

Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 1 month ago. The theory norms make it easier to talk about Music when we translate it to English or our native spoken language. Just like grammar. Try not to overthink it. Thank you for this wonderful explanation! I also understand that ultimately the rule is there are no rules. Anyway, my question for you is why you chose to view the minor scales as a separate category of scale and not just another mode?

To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing unique or special between the Aeolian mode and the other six. In my mind, only the Ionian major scale mode is unique because, as you point out, it is the basis of the other six tonalities, among which is thew Aeolian mode. Is it because of the popularity of the Aeolian natural minor mode in Western music?

Personal preference? Or is there something else here that I am missing? Just curious! Your question is an excellent one. You are correct in assuming that the answer lies in Music History. They are is 42 keys in music. Total 42 keys. There are four arrow keys up, right, down, and left arrow on a keyboard. If you also count the arrow keys found on most PC keyboards number pad, there are eight arrow keys.

Counting the function keys row, there are six rows of keys. Three of those rows top row , home row , and bottom row contain alphabetic letters that aren't in alphabetical order. When you place your hand on the keyboard, your fingers should be on the home row. How many keys are on a computer keyboard? Note Some computers may have an external USB numeric keypad device attached to the computer.

Note When talking about a keypad on a phone or security keypad, this keypad has 12 buttons. Note The count above includes the Windows key and Menu key 3 keys and does not count the arrow keys. In the piano, the sharps and flats are represented by the black keys as shown in the image above. A key is said to be sharpened when we move directly to the next key after it and flattened when we move directly to the previous key below it. This can be a hard thing to do as the concept surrounding it is kind of complicated.

The basic method of finding the key of song is by listening to the song and locating its tonal note on a musical instrument. The tonal note provides a sense of arrival and rest when playing or listening to music. It acts like the center of the music, like the whole music is revolving around it. We could describe this with the concept of the gravitational force of the earth where objects floating around it tends to be pulled to the center until they come to a state of rest on the surface.

The tonic note is regarded as that point of rest while the other notes used as the point where the music is floating. It is common to hear song begin and end with the tonal note. Some music professionals might not need a musical instrument to locate the key of a particular song as they have trained their ears to differentiate the sound of the different keys.