This game is designed to help you learn which keys are major and relative minor just from looking at accidentals in the key signatures. It’s a fun little way of doing this and it can be used as an interactive widget via touch screen and mouse, or with your computer keyboard if you want something that’s going to go a bit quicker.
It couldn’t be simpler. Simply look at the key signature on the staff then choose the right home key from the four choices given. You’re presented with a randomly generated key signature on a treble clef as the main interaction area. Beneath this you’ll notice four button which each correspond to potential key names. Click on the right one and submit your answer.
How to Use the Key Signature Game
If you get it right then the widget plays a brief audio clue for the home chord, and your score is updated accordingy. If not, your streak gets reset and you can attempt another signature straight away.
The right-hand side contains controls for the type of material you wish to practice as well as how difficult that might be. You can choose from several key families, such as Relative Minor Keys, the Major Keys, or Mixed Mode. Then there’s a Signature range filter; you can select only Flat Signatures, only Sharp Signatures, or both together. This enables you to focus your practice on certain patterns before combining them.
The audio clues can be turned on and off using the volume slider. It’s good to have them on so that you can hear the tonic triads play. However, you may wish to mute them by turning the volume down to zero during practice.
The ‘Turn over another signature’ button will then draw another card from the pool.
Pressing the home-key clue button plays the triad (either major or minor depending on the signature) without ticking the box to say it has been answered. This might come in handy if you’re not sure and would like an aural hint.
The Accidental Writing Order button causes the trace to dim the signature and then show each accidental in its normal written form one by one. Sharps are: F, C, G, D, A, E, B. Flats are: B, E, A, D, G, C, F. This animation shows the sequence rules for remembering which accidentals come next. This helps you quickly count the number of accidentals.
Remove this card stack button. This button resets your streak and score to zero so you can try again.
Below the home-key clue button is another new control: Hear both signature homes. If you click on this, then major tonic triad will play through followed by the relative minor tonic triad. This serves as a reminder that the major and relative minor keys has the same signature but different tonal centers. This helps train your ear to tell the difference between these two options where the signature becomes unclear.
This makes practicing much faster for keyboard players. The four answer buttons is numbered from left to right (buttons 1-4). To choose an answer, simply press that button rather than having to move your hand back to the mouse. Dropdowns and other controls work just like normal with tab and Enter/Space. It keeps you focused on the staff while you answer.
Start with no sound and just try to see what is happening. Once you feel more confident, switch the sound back on. Only use the home-key clue button occasionally. Think of that as a check, not a crutch.
The Trace button helps if you are not sure how accidentals go one after another. Sometimes it helps fix it in your head by watching them build up instead of reading it cold.
Switch between the sharp and flat filters if you find one side easier than the other; practicing both separately helps you master each logic before combining them in mixed mode. Sharp signatures are more naturaly understood by most musicians as they usually match the major key after the final sharp. Flat ones are counted back from the second to last flat. Practising each individually can help you learn each logic before applying them together in mixed mode. This step-by-step method would of not overwhelm your working memory while building confidence.
Your current run streak and score is tracked on the widget. Your score is simply a running tally of correct answers. Each incorrect answer re-sets your run streak. Take your time and try not to break the streak. The more rushed you are, the higher the chance that you’ll miscount the accidentals. If you forget to count the signs, the feedback message at the end of the card will remind you.
The How to play button at the top will show you an expanded version of the help panel that includes keyboard shortcuts and other details about how it works. If you need a reminder of the rules and shortcuts or want a reminder of the accidental order conventions used, then this is a handy reference.
The fullscreen button simply expands the widget out to take up your entire screen. It is useful on mobile devices or smaller screens for removing distractions and allowing the staff to be displayed bigger.
It uses standard notation conventions. You have all major and minor keys with no accidentals up to seven sharps/flats. Accidentals go as follows: F C G D A E B (sharps), and then B E A D G C F (flats). These are automatically made by the widget for you. All that remains for you to do is recognise the pattern and identify the key. With practice, you’ll learn to spot this visually quicker and quicker.
Begin with easy filters such as just sharp signatures. Pick out a couple of cards and match them accurately. In the mixed mode, try matching how well you remember everything. Listen for audio clue and link it to visual chord symbol. Eventually, you won’t have to count every single accidental. You’ll recognize the signature pattern. Just continue to play through and soon it becomes second nature.