The Key of F Major
The F major scale starts and ends on the note F and it contains a Bb note instead of a B note. Play the following F major scale and listen for the Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do sound. Songs that use notes from the F major scale are in the F major scale and hence contain the note Bb.
The F Major Key Signature
This is the key signature for the key of F major. It contains one B flat (Bb) because the F major scale contains Bb.
Instead of writing the flat sign before every B note on the staff, one flat sign can be written after each clef. This means that all B notes on the staff are played as Bb, even though there is no flat sign written before them.
Marianne is in the key of F major. The left hand part here is a variation of the eighth note arpeggio style. Instead of playing the arpeggio straight up and down, the pattern alternates between the lowest note and the other two notes of each chord. This style of accompaniment is very popular in Classical music and is called an Alberti bass.
You have now learned all three of the basic methods of accompanying melodies: chord style, broken chord style and arpeggio style. The accompaniment you use can make a big difference to how good the overall piece of music sounds. You can often make a simple melody sound great just by giving it an interesting accompaniment. Go back through the book and experiment with various accompaniments to each of the songs. Remember that each accompaniment style is based on the same basic chord shapes.
The following song Molly Malone (also called "Cockles And Mussels") is a well known traditional Irish song, written here in the key of F major. The left hand part is a variation of the Alberti bass pattern, altered to fit in with ^ time. Once again, practice each hand separately at first if necessary.
