Key signature key signatures showing sharps or flats on both octaves for notes which fall within the staff. An accidental is an exception to the key signature, applying only to the measure and octave in which it appears. Although a key signature may be written using any combination of sharp and flat symbols, the most common series of thirteen homogeneous key signatures—ranging from six flats to six sharps, with each successive flat or sharp placed on the note a perfect fifth below or above, respectively, the previous one—is assumed in much of this article. A piece scored using a single diatonic key
Musical note D, E, F, G, A, B, C and then in reverse order, with no key signature or accidentals. In all technicality, "music" can be composed of notes at any arbitrary physical frequency. Since the physical causes of music are vibrations of mechanical systems, they are often measured in hertz (Hz), with 1 Hz meaning one vibration per second. For historical and other reasons, especially in Western music, only twelve notes of fixed frequencies are used. These fixed frequencies are mathematically related to each other, and are defined around the central note, A. The current "standard pitch" or modern "concert pitch"