Printable Key Signatures Chart
All 15 key signatures — every major key with its relative minor, written out in both treble and bass clef, with the sharps or flats listed in order. Hit Print or Download PDF for the whole chart on one page — no signup. It is the circle of fifths laid out flat, so you can read a signature off the staff instead of counting round the wheel.
Prints on one US Letter page. Set margins to "None" for the sharpest result.
Key Signatures Chart
All 15 major keys and their relative minors — treble clef above, bass clef below
Sharp Keys — sharps come in the order F C G D A E B
Flat Keys — flats come in the order B E A D G C F
How to Read It
- Sharps: the key is a half step above the last sharp.
- Flats: the second-to-last flat names the key.
- One flat on its own = F major.
- Relative minor = 3 half steps down.
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father
B = C♭, F♯ = G♭ and C♯ = D♭ are the same pitches spelled two ways. · printablepolly.com/key-signatures-chart
How to Use This Key Signatures Chart
1. Match the printed staff to the one in your music
Open a piece, look at the accidentals after the clef, and find the cell on the chart that matches. Because the sharps and flats are drawn in their real staff positions — not just listed as letters — you can compare shapes rather than counting. Three sharps in that stair-step pattern is A major or F♯ minor, and nothing else.
2. Learn the order, then you only need to count
Sharps always arrive in the order F C G D A E B and flats in the exact reverse. Nothing is ever skipped, so once you know the order, a signature with five flats has to be B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ — that is D♭ major. Say the mnemonic out loud a few times and most of the chart is memorised.
3. Use both clefs for piano
Piano students read the signature twice on every grand staff, and the bass-clef version looks different enough to trip people up. Each accidental sits a third lower than in treble clef. Cover one row of the chart and name the other to drill it — or write the signatures out yourself on blank staff paper.
4. Go from key signature to the notes under your hands
A key signature tells you which notes stay altered for the whole piece, which is the fingering for the scale it comes from. Once you have named the key, the piano scales chart gives you the notes and fingering, and the note values chart covers the rhythm side of the same page of music.
Printable PDF
The chart above is the whole thing — one US Letter page, black-and-white friendly, with all 15 signatures in treble and bass clef plus the reading rules. Print as many copies as you need for a classroom or studio. No signup, no watermark.
More Printable Music Charts
Circle of Fifths
The same 15 signatures on the wheel
🎹Piano Scales
Notes & fingering for every key
🎶Note Values Chart
Whole to sixteenth notes & rests
🎵Music Theory Basics
Intervals, dynamics & tempo markings
⏱️Tempo Markings Chart
Tempo terms, BPM ranges & dynamics
🎻Instrument Range Chart
Ranges & transposition for every part
🎹Chord Inversions
Root, 1st & 2nd inversion in every key
FAQ
How many key signatures are there?
Fifteen. One with no accidentals (C major / A minor), seven that use sharps (G, D, A, E, B, F♯, C♯) and seven that use flats (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭). Every one of them is shared by a major key and its relative minor, so 15 signatures cover 30 keys.
How do I work out the key from a key signature?
With sharps, the key is a half step above the last sharp: three sharps ending on G♯ means A major. With flats, the second-to-last flat names the key: B♭ E♭ A♭ means E♭ major. One flat on its own is F major, and no accidentals is C major. For the relative minor, count three half steps down from the major — A major and F♯ minor share three sharps.
Are key signatures written differently in bass clef?
The accidentals are the same and they come in the same order, but each one is drawn a third lower on the staff — one line or space down from where it sits in treble clef. The first sharp, F♯, is on the top line in treble and the fourth line in bass. The one exception is the seventh flat: F♭ moves up to the fourth line in bass clef instead of dropping below the staff.
What is the order of sharps and flats?
Sharps always appear in the order F C G D A E B — "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle." Flats are the exact reverse, B E A D G C F — "Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father." A key signature never skips one, so four sharps are always F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯.
Why do some keys appear twice on the chart?
B and C♭, F♯ and G♭, C♯ and D♭ are enharmonic — the same pitches spelled two ways, where the sharp side and the flat side of the circle of fifths meet. Players pick whichever spelling needs fewer accidentals, which is why F♯ major (6 sharps) turns up far more often than C♭ major (7 flats).
Is this key signatures chart free to print?
Yes — click Print or Download PDF and you get all 15 key signatures on one US Letter page. No signup, no watermark, and no limit on copies for your classroom or music studio.