[lemonaidan@sbcglobal.net]

I'm not asking WHAT scale, but if there's a trick to knowing besides just memorizing?... Same with the treble clef- is there a way to know what scale it is without memorizing?

[knowitall93]

Just remember Fat Cats Get Dirty After Every Bath. FCGDAEB- the order of the sharps. since there are four , go up one letter from the last sharp, so its the E major scale. Good luck

[tuttifruiti]

No matter whether its in the bass or treble clef, look at the last sharp in the key signature (furthest to the right) and go up a half step from that, and that's what key you're in.So to use your example, with 4 sharps, the last one is D sharp, and up a half step from that is E, so the key is E major.It works differently with the flats. Go to the second last flat in the key signature and that's the key you're in.So for example, if you have 4 flats, the second last one is A flat, therefore you're in the key of A flat major.

[CWRUlibrarian]

The sharps trick tells you what the major scale would be, And likewise, the flat on the right is FA in the major scale. But without seeing what the resting point is, you can't be sure if 4 sharps is E major, C# minor, F# Dorian, G# Phrygian, etc.