About Key Map File Names

Key map file names, of course, provide the names of the musical pieces or instructional materials in the files. They also provide a great deal of useful coded information. But for this information to be useful, one must know what the codes stand for. The purpose of this page is to provide interpretations of these codes, and in some cases, their meanings. Keep in mind that many of the codes are simply abbreviations of the words that they stand for.

Skill Levels - A thru E. Click on this link for the explanations.

Key Map Versions - S-Standard; SP-Standard/Pink LH; C-Colored Rhythm; and CP-Colored Rhythm/Pink LH. Click on this link for the explanations.

File Name Prefixes

PC - Prep, Chords - The prefix for the Chord Prep Series, instruction on playing with chord symbols.

PK - Prep, Keyboard - The prefix for the Keyboard Prep Series, beginners music. 

RC - Repertoire Collections - The prefix for collections of pieces.

RP - Repertoire Pieces - The prefix for files containing a single piece.

Other Codes

1602-18 - date - (Feb. 18, 2016) The date at the end of the file name indicates either the date that the master file was completed, or the date of the last major revision. 

bw - black and white - Indicates that a mix of black and white keyboard keys are used for the piece. These pieces have key signatures of 4 or more sharps or flats in them. (They demonstrate one of the great advantages of key maps, namely, that the number of sharps and flats in a piece has little affect on the difficulty of reading and playing the notes.)

CS - Chord Symbols - The notation includes standard chord symbols.

Cds - Chords - The notation includes chords that are spelled out.

.pdf - Indicates file type.

v - version - The letters following the v indicate the version of the music.

x after the v - Indicates that the file master was created as an Excel file.

File Organization

TITLES IN ALL CAPITALS - These are section titles. The files contain no content.

Titles with no content - These are simply spacers used to separate sections.

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