The Setup and Key Signature Windows

      Every note has a major scale beginning upon itself. For each scale there is a key signature. In the 'Keys' tab of Aquallegro, one can learn the different key signatures. In the setup window, there are settings to allow for the enabling and disabling of certain clefs, and whether to display key signatures with sharps, flats, or both. Clicking 'Key Signatures Quiz' or pressing return will bring up the key signatures window.
      In the left hand pane of this window, a clef and key signature will be displayed. Using the buttons on the right side of the window or by typing the letter name on the keyboard, one must select which key signature has been displayed. If typing, flats are indicated by typing 'b' after the note, and sharps are indicated by typing '#' after the note. The word "Correct" will appear under the note name buttons and a new note will be displayed, or the word "Incorrect" will appear in the same location and one must try again. One's score will be displayed underneath the buttons, as well.



Learning the Key Signatures

      The sharps and flats have specific orders that they must be drawn onto the staff. Each of these has a mneumonic - for flats, the order is BEADGCF, "BEAD, Greatest Common Factor", and for sharps, the order is FCGDAEB, "Fat Cats Go Down After Eating Breakfast". Every time one adds a sharp, the key goes up a 5th - C has no sharps and no flats, so the key with one sharp would be G. Every time one adds a flat, the key goes down a 5th - the key with 1 flat would be F.
      There are tricks for finding the key signatures if given the key. If given a flat key, name flats in order until one comes to the name of the scale, and then go one more - if one were given Ab, the key signature would be Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db. If given a sharp key, go down a step and name sharps in order until one reaches the name of the key - if one were given F#, the key signature would be F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, and E#. A key cannot have both flats and sharps.