4 sharps key signature: which keys use four sharps?
A 4 sharps key signature belongs to E major and its relative minor, C sharp minor. The four sharps, in order, are F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp. The last of them, D sharp, sits a minor second under E. Four perfect fifths up from C also land on E. The pitches to recompute are 329.63 Hz for E and 277.18 Hz for C sharp.
What a 4 sharps key signature prints
E major and C sharp minor share these four sharps and no others. The next sharp in the fixed order would be A sharp. That fifth sharp names B major, on the 5 sharps key signature page. Three sharps stop at G sharp and name A major, which is one fifth lower.
| Sharp | Treble staff | Bass staff |
|---|---|---|
| F sharp | top line | fourth line |
| C sharp | third space | second space |
| G sharp | space above the staff | fourth space |
| D sharp | fourth line | third line |
| E major | C sharp minor |
|---|---|
| E, F sharp, G sharp, A, B, C sharp, D sharp | C sharp, D sharp, E, F sharp, G sharp, A, B |
Diatonic triads in E major: E major, F sharp minor, G sharp minor, A major, B major, C sharp minor, D sharp diminished. C sharp minor starts on C sharp minor, then D sharp diminished, E major, F sharp minor, G sharp minor, A major, B major.
How four sharps name E
The major tonic is a minor second above the last sharp. The last sharp on this signature is D sharp, and one semitone up is E. That is E major, not the relative minor.
Count the fifths if you would rather not look at the last sharp. C plus one fifth is G, plus a second is D, plus a third is A, plus a fourth is E. Four fifths, four sharps. One fifth fewer is A major, on the 3 sharps key signature page.
C sharp minor sits a minor third under E: E down three semitones is C sharp. Both keys use the same four printed sharps. The chord the music closes on tells them apart.
Numbers you can check
Equal temperament from A 4 = 440 Hz: pitch = 440 × 2((midi − 69) ÷ 12) Hz. E 4 is midi 64, so 440 × 2(−5 ÷ 12) = 329.628… Hz, written 329.63 Hz. C sharp 4 is midi 61, so 440 × 2(−8 ÷ 12) = 277.183… Hz, written 277.18 Hz.
The accidental count is four, names F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp. Four perfect fifths above C spell E. Three semitones under E spell C sharp.
The arithmetic is separate from the recording. On 20 October 2026 the key finder called Bach’s E major prelude opening E major at 73% confidence.
A recorded example you can check
Wikipedia’s The Well-Tempered Clavier article, read on 20 October 2026, lists Book 1 No. 9 as Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 854. The Open Well-Tempered Clavier score, MuseScore edition by Olivier Miquel, version 1.0 of 19 March 2015, marked Creative Commons Zero, heads the page “Praeludium 9 / BWV 854” and prints four sharps between the clefs and the time signature. The clip is the opening of that prelude. The article supplies the key name. The engraving supplies the four sharps. Those are not the same document.
On 20 October 2026 at 06:03 EDT this site’s key finder read the clip as E major, Camelot 12B, at 73% confidence, with the hint “Check against your audio”. The next two candidates were D flat minor (Camelot 12A, 6%) and B major (Camelot 1B, 4%). The screen did not add a low-confidence note. The percentage is the finder’s estimate for this file, not a measured accuracy rate. The article, the score, and the finder all name E major.
What our key tools tell you
The key finder names a key from a recording. Key from chords names one from chord symbols. Neither tool redraws the staff. Four sharps still mean F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, then D sharp, whatever a short clip returns.
4 sharps key signature: quick answers
What key has 4 sharps?
E major, and the relative minor C sharp minor. Both use a 4 sharps key signature.
What are the 4 sharps in order?
F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp. The order of sharps is F, C, G, D, A, E, B, and this signature stops at the fourth step.
Where does D sharp sit?
On the treble staff, the fourth line. On the bass staff, the third line. It is the rightmost sharp of the four.
What is the relative minor of E major?
C sharp minor, three semitones under E. There is no separate C sharp minor prelude in Book 1; the E major prelude carries this signature.
What did the finder return?
E major, Camelot 12B, 73%. D flat minor at 6% and B major at 4% came next.
What this page leaves open
- Harmonic and melodic minor raise notes that this signature leaves natural. Those accidentals are not part of the four printed sharps.
- 329.63 Hz and 277.18 Hz are equal-temperament arithmetic. They were not measured from the piano file.
- 73% describes this 20-second opening, not every piece in E major.