Keys & Scales in Grade 5 Music Theory

Key signatures at a glance, minor scales, and scale degrees · 五級樂理調與音階

Grade 5 covers every major and minor key up to six sharps or flats. That sounds like a lot to memorise — but two small tricks identify any key signature instantly, and the minor-scale questions all hinge on one detail: what happens to the 7th.

Identify any key signature in seconds

• Sharp keys: take the last sharp and go up one semitone — that's the major key. Four sharps? Last is D♯ → E major.
• Flat keys: the second-to-last flat is the major key. Four flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭)? Second-to-last is A♭ → A♭ major. (One flat is the exception: F major.)

The sharps always appear in the order F C G D A E B; the flats in the reverse order B E A D G C F. Learn those two sequences and you can also write any key signature, not just read one.

Finding the relative minor

Every key signature belongs to one major key and one minor key. The relative minor is three semitones below the major key's tonic (a minor 3rd): E major → C♯ minor; A♭ major → F minor. When a question asks "which minor key has four sharps?", go via the major key first.

Harmonic vs melodic minor — the detail that's always tested

The harmonic minor's raised 7th is the single most-tested scale detail at Grade 5. In G♯ minor, the raised 7th is F𝄪 (F double-sharp) — the exam loves keys where the raised 7th needs a double sharp, so don't panic when you see one: it's usually the point of the question.

Scale degrees have names

Tonic (1), supertonic (2), mediant (3), subdominant (4), dominant (5), submediant (6), leading note (7). Questions ask things like "name the submediant of D♭ major" — count up the scale from the tonic. The chord questions use the same names, so this list pays off twice.

The chromatic scale

A chromatic scale includes all twelve semitones. When asked whether one is "correctly written", check two things: every semitone is there, and no letter name appears more than twice in a row. The exact mix of sharps and flats can vary — the letter-name rule is what makes it right or wrong.

Practise with real exam-style questions

Tonica's mock papers test keys, scales and degrees in the real ABRSM format — hard keys included — with instant marking and explanations, in English and 中文. Paper 1 is completely free, no signup.