I've noticed that a variety of pieces in the classical repetoire (certainly at least the piano repetoire), label what seems to be effectively the same key signature differently. That is, I am not aware of any differences in terms of key between a piece in "G Sharp major" and "A flat major" (or their equivalent minors). Is there any reason that sometimes a sharped key signature is used while at other times the equivalent flatted key signature is used?

As a related point, I have undoubtedly noticed the preference of certain "equivalent" key signatures over others. For example, one encounters "E flat" significantly more than "D sharp" and likewise "C sharp" significantly more than "D flat". Is there any particular reason for this, or is it simply a convention that has been handed down to use through musical history?


Question: When we talk about an 88/76/etc Key piano, does that include all keys or just white notes?
Answer: An 88 key piano will have a TOTAL of 88 keys. White keys + black keys = 88.