Question

If a given line's key signature contains one sharp and one of the bass notes is D#, the key is more than likely ____.

A. G Major
B. E Major
C. G Minor
D. E Minor

Answer 1

The answer to the question is The key signature is a collection of sharps or flats that indicates which notes should be raised or lowered so that they belong to the key.

Answer 2

D. E Minor

Step-by-step explanation:

A key signature indicates the key of the piece of music. It is placed at the beginning of the stave and consists of either sharps or flats.

The order of sharps or flats within a key signature is uniform, following the sequence of the circle of fifths:

• The order of sharps in a key signature is F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯, B♯.
• The order of flats in a key signature is B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭, F♭.

If a key signature contains one sharp, the sharp will be the first sharp, F♯. An F♯ in the key signature indicates that the key of the piece is either G major or its relative minor, E minor.

In the case of the melodic and harmonic E minor scales, the seventh note is raised by one semitone from D to D♯. Therefore, if a piece of music is in E minor rather than G major, we would expect to encounter instances of D♯ in the music.

Therefore:

• If a given line's key signature contains one sharp and one of the bass notes is D♯, the key is more than likely E minor.