Musical notation its "natural" form, which means that any sharps or flats applying to that note from the key signature or from accidentals are cancelled. Sometimes a courtesy accidental is used in music where it is not technically required, to remind the musician of what pitch the key signature requires. Following the key signature is the time signature. The time signature typically consists of two numbers, with one of the most common being "4/4". The top "4" indicates that there are four beats per measure (also called bar). The bottom "4" indicates that each of those beats are quarter notes. Measures divide
Key signature names and translations if those are the systems used locally. For example recent French scores or books may use the English system (this is especially common for chord symbols), but French users would read out that notation according to the Fixed Do system. Similarly a Dutch musician may refer to a written F orally as Fis. This article is concerned with written usage. To form a key designation, locate the note name in the pitch translation table and add the major/minor qualifier from the lower table as needed. Note that the 'major' alteration is usually superfluous, as a key description missing an alteration