To determine what the first key that contains flats is, start on C on your piano and go down 5 notes. When trying to figure out the order just repeat this in your head and it will make it simple to determine what the flats are. The order of flats can be memorized by using this simple acronym: BEAD Greatest Common Factor or ( B E A D G C F).

Everything with sharps and flats follows the same formula, which goes off of the circle of fifths. If you’re seeing a trend here, that’s good. If you break down the notes that will be in the scale, you will get A B C# D E F# G# A.

It will have 3 sharps and those are going to be F# C# and G#. If we take another example we can go up to A Major. You then can look at the order of sharps and see your two sharps are going to be F# and C#. You can figure this out by starting on G and going up 5 notes. This means that you will have these following notes: G A B C D E F# G.ĭ Major is the next key and it has 2 sharps. By applying the order of sharps, you will see that G Major has one sharp and that sharp is F#. Start on C and go up 5 notes and you will land on G Major. You can also simply use a piano and jump up 5 notes per key.įor example, C Major has zero sharps or flats. You can apply the circle of fifths now in order to get to figure out which keys have which sharps. The order of sharps can be memorized by using this simple acronym: Fat Cats Get Dirty After Every Bath or F C G D A E B. I am going to break this down in a way that will highlight how to understand sharps and flats for pianists, as well as all other instruments. The purpose of this guide is to show you the exact order as well as present it in the easiest way. If you have a passion for writing music and learning songs, then chances are you will want to know the order of sharps and flats.Īs you know, every key has a unique set of sharps and flats. The order of flats and sharps is important to not only musicians studying music theory, but also for songwriters.

How To Determine The Flats & Sharps In Minor Keys.

What is the order of flats?