How to tell what key a piano piece is in?

Question:Can somebody please tell me how to find what key a piano piece is in and how to tell if a piece is major or minor?

i've been playing for about 3 years and i'm in leval 4 in the Alfred books and Faber books. don't know if that helps with anything. if possible, also list some good sites to research musical terms and theories. Thank u!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Can somebody please tell me how to find what key a piano piece is in and how to tell if a piece is major or minor?

i've been playing for about 3 years and i'm in leval 4 in the Alfred books and Faber books. don't know if that helps with anything. if possible, also list some good sites to research musical terms and theories. Thank u!

keys are determined by the sharps and flats a piece has. those sharps and flats are used in scales, and the name of the scale is the key. for example: F major is a scale with 2 sharps on the saxophone. i never knew how to tell if it was major or minor. all the minor pieces i played were clearly marked with minor on them, but there are minor scales, and i suppose you could use them to figure that out the same way you find the key.

Usually the last note of a piece is the key note. If you have the sheet music, just look at the number of sharps or flats. If major, the last note is the key. If minor, the last note will be the 6th note of the key.