6 sharps key signature: which keys use six sharps?
A 6 sharps key signature belongs to F sharp major and its relative minor, D sharp minor. The six sharps, in order, are F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp, A sharp, E sharp. The last sharp is E sharp, a minor second under F sharp, so that is the major name. Six perfect fifths up from C land on F sharp. The pitches to recompute are 369.99 Hz for F sharp 4 and 739.99 Hz for F sharp 5.
What a 6 sharps key signature prints
F sharp major and D sharp minor share these six sharps. Five sharps stop at A sharp and name B major, one fifth lower, on the 5 sharps key signature page. Seven sharps add B sharp and name C sharp major, one fifth higher, on the 7 sharps key signature page. The same sounding major is G flat major, written with six flats, on the 6 flats key signature page.
| 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 |
| A sharp | second space | first space |
| E sharp | fourth space | third space |
| F sharp major | D sharp minor |
|---|---|
| F sharp, G sharp, A sharp, B, C sharp, D sharp, E sharp | D sharp, E sharp, F sharp, G sharp, A sharp, B, C sharp |
Diatonic triads in F sharp major: F sharp major, G sharp minor, A sharp minor, B major, C sharp major, D sharp minor, E sharp diminished. D sharp minor starts on D sharp minor, then E sharp diminished, F sharp major, G sharp minor, A sharp minor, B major, C sharp major.
How six sharps name F sharp
The last sharp is a minor second under the major tonic. Here the rightmost sharp is E sharp. A minor second above E sharp is F sharp. That names F sharp major. D sharp minor is the other key that prints the same six sharps.
Upward fifths: C to G, to D, to A, to E, to B, to F sharp. Six steps, six sharps. F sharp 4 is 369.99 Hz, the same equal-temperament number as G flat 4, with the sharp spelling.
D sharp minor sits a minor third under F sharp. The catalog prelude on this page is the major. The finder, below, returned that same major first.
Numbers you can check
Equal temperament from A 4 = 440 Hz: pitch = 440 × 2((midi − 69) ÷ 12) Hz. F sharp 4 is midi 66, so 440 × 2(−3 ÷ 12) = 369.994… Hz, written 369.99 Hz. F sharp 5 is midi 78, so 440 × 2(9 ÷ 12) = 739.988… Hz, written 739.99 Hz.
The accidental count is six, names F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp, A sharp, E sharp. Six perfect fifths above C spell F sharp. Three semitones under F sharp spell D sharp.
The arithmetic is separate from the recording. On 20 October 2026 the key finder called this opening F sharp major at 70% confidence. That is the same major the score title prints. The screen did not mark the reading low.
A recorded example you can check
Wikipedia’s The Well-Tempered Clavier article, read on 20 October 2026, lists Book 1 No. 13 as Prelude and Fugue in F sharp major, BWV 858. 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 13 / BWV 858”. The clip is the opening of that prelude. The staff places in the table are the standard six-sharp places. This page does not treat the title crop as a counted signature.
On 20 October 2026 at 06:03 EDT this site’s key finder read the clip as F sharp major, Camelot 2B, at 70% confidence, with the hint “Check against your audio”. The next two candidates were D flat major (Camelot 3B, 9%) and B flat minor (Camelot 3A, 6%). The screen did not add a low-confidence note. The percentage is this file’s estimate, not a measured accuracy rate. The article, the score title, and the finder headline all name F sharp major. D flat major is the 9% candidate, not the headline. This page leaves the alternatives on the record.
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. Six sharps still mean F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp, A sharp, then E sharp, whether or not a short clip’s first name matches the printed signature.
6 sharps key signature: quick answers
What key has 6 sharps?
F sharp major, and the relative minor D sharp minor. Both use a 6 sharps key signature.
What are the 6 sharps in order?
F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp, A sharp, E sharp. The order of sharps is F, C, G, D, A, E, B, and this signature stops before B.
Where does E sharp sit?
On the treble staff, the fourth space. On the bass staff, the third space. It is the rightmost sharp of the six.
What is the relative minor of F sharp major?
D sharp minor, three semitones under F sharp. The catalog prelude on this page is the major, not that minor.
What did the finder return?
F sharp major, Camelot 2B, 70%. D flat major at 9% and B flat minor at 6% came next. The screen did not mark it low. The headline matches the catalog major.
What this page leaves open
- Harmonic minor in D sharp minor raises the seventh to C double sharp. That sign is not one of the six printed sharps.
- 369.99 Hz and 739.99 Hz are equal-temperament arithmetic. They were not measured from the piano file.
- 70% describes this 20-second opening. It names F sharp major, which matches the article, and it is still an estimate rather than an accuracy rate.