Music (Sharp and Flat)

Consequently there is a pattern of minor-key signatures corresponding to the pattern of major-key signatures -
No sharps or flats

A minor (C major)
1 sharp (F) E minor (G major)
2 sharps (F C) B minor (D major)
3 sharps (F C G) F# minor (A major)
4.sharps (F C G D) C# minor (E major)
5 sharps (F C G D A) G# minor (B major)
6 sharps (F C G D A E) D# minor (F# major)

1 flat (B) D minor (F major)
2 flats (B E) G minor (Bb major)
3 flats (B E A) C minor (Eb major)
4 flats (B E A D) F minor (Ab major)
5 flats (B E A D G) Bb minor (Db major)
6 flats (B E A D G C) Eb minor (Gb major)

On the next page is a complete list of key signatures up to seven sharps or flats. It shows which lines of the stave the sharps and flats are placed on. Major and minor keys which share the same key signature (e.g. G major and E minor) are said to be 'relatives' of each other: G major, for example, is the relative major of E minor, and E minor is the relative minor of G major.These expressions have some use as a kind of shorthand, but they can be dangerously misleading, since they may suggest that keys with the same key signature are merely versions of each other. They are not. They have different key-notes. Since (as will be seen shorty) the importance of every other note in a scale depends on its relationship to the key-note, the whole balance of the two keys is quite different. Only keys with the same key-note are truly versions of each other (e.g. G major and G minor). To underline this point. here are all the versions of the scale of C (note that not only the key-note but the 2nd, 4th and 5th degrees remain the same throughout) -