#13 CIRCLE OF FIFTHS, EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE

Andrew Furmanczyk

8 Feb 201020:35

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRIn this piano lesson, the instructor teaches how to draw a circle of fifths chart from memory in under a minute. Step-by-step, colors are used to diagram the circle showing all major and minor scales, their relative minors/majors, and key signatures. It enables answering questions about scales, slots, and relationships. For homework students should repeatedly practice drawing the circle from memory under timed conditions to master interval relationships and strengthen musical knowledge.

Takeaways

😀 The video teaches how to draw a circle of fifths chart showing all major and minor scales and their key signatures
🎹 You can bring a hand-drawn circle of fifths chart into music exams for reference
🖍 Steps are provided to systematically draw the full circle of fifths
🎵 Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle is a memory device for remembering the order of sharps
♭ Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father is for remembering the order of flats
👂 The inner part of the circle shows relative minor scales
🔢 The outer part shows how many sharps or flats are in each major key signature
🎼 Completing the homework of drawing it 50 times under 1 minute will help memorize it
🧠 Circle of fifths gives you all key signatures, scales and relative majors/minors in one place
🌈 The final chart has multiple colors to differentiate sections

Q & A

What is the circle of fifths?
-The circle of fifths is a chart that shows all the major and minor scales, their relative majors and minors, and the key signatures associated with those scales. It allows you to easily look up details about any key.
Why is it called the circle of fifths?
-It's called the circle of fifths because as you move clockwise or counter-clockwise around the circle, you go up or down by fifths (C to G is a fifth, G to D is a fifth etc.).
What is the purpose of learning and memorizing the circle of fifths?
-Learning the circle of fifths makes it easy to figure out key signatures, scales, and relative majors/minors for exams. It also helps with analyzing and composing music by allowing you to easily see relationships between keys.
What mnemonic devices are used to remember the order of sharps and flats?
-The sayings "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle" and "Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles" are used to remember the order of sharps (FCGDAEB) and flats (BEADGCF) respectively.
What are the steps to construct the circle of fifths?
-The steps are: 1) Draw a circle and dividing line 2) Add C, G, D, A, E, B, F# and C# majors 3) Add F, Bb, Eb majors 4) Add relative minor scales 5) Add enharmonic spellings.
What are relative majors and minors?
-Relative majors and minors share the same key signature. For example, A minor and C major are relative minors and majors.
What are enharmonic spellings?
-Enharmonic spellings are two different musical notations that represent the same pitch. For example, D# and Eb represent the exact same note.
How can you use the circle of fifths to figure out a key signature?
-Find the major or minor key you want on the circle of fifths, and the key signature (sharps or flats) needed for that key is listed next to it.
If you know a piece has 4 flats, what key is it likely in?
-By looking at the circle of fifths, a key with 4 flats is A-flat major.
What is a good way to practice drawing the circle of fifths?
-Drawing the circle of fifths repeatedly (50 times is recommended) and timing yourself, aiming to be able to draw it clearly under 1 minute.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Overview of learning how to draw a circle of fifths chart

The paragraph provides an introduction to the lesson, which will teach how to draw a circle of fifths chart from memory. It mentions the usefulness of this chart for music exams, shares an anecdote of practicing drawing it quickly as a child, and sets the expectation that students will learn it extremely well.

05:01

🖍 Step-by-step instructions for drawing the circle of fifths

The paragraph provides detailed, step-by-step instructions for drawing the different components of the circle of fifths chart. It walks through adding the majors, minors, sharps, and flats in sequence using mnemonics like "Father Charles" and colors to differentiate the sections.

10:03

❗ Final steps for completing the circle of fifths chart

The paragraph finishes explaining the last steps for completing the circle of fifths chart - adding the sharp and flat minor scales. It emphasizes the importance of practice and provides some additional tips for understanding how the chart fits together.

15:04

📖 How to use the finished circle of fifths chart

The paragraph explains how to utilize the completed circle of fifths chart. It provides examples of looking up key signatures, relative majors/minors, and details on enharmonic spellings of scales.

20:06

👩‍🏫 Homework assignment for practicing drawing the chart

The paragraph assigns homework to practice drawing the circle of fifths chart quickly and accurately. It recommends completing 50 drawings, timing each attempt, and reviewing the video if needed.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Circle of fifths

The circle of fifths is a chart that shows all the major and minor scales, their relative majors/minors, and the key signatures associated with them. It arranges the scales in fifths going clockwise and counterclockwise, with major scales on the outer circle and minor scales inside. This allows you to easily look up details for any key. For example, the script shows looking up details for F major and A-flat major using the circle.

💡relative majors and minors

Relative majors and minors refer to major and minor keys that share the same key signature. For example, A minor is the relative minor of C major - they both have no sharps or flats. The circle of fifths shows the relative major/minor for each key. This is useful for questions about specifics of a key, like what the relative minor for a given major key is.

💡key signature

The key signature defines the sharps or flats that occur in a particular major or minor key. The circle of fifths shows the key signature for each key by listing the sharps or flats going clockwise or counterclockwise from the central C. This allows you to easily determine the proper key signature for a given key like F major or E-flat minor.

💡Father Charles

Father Charles is a mnemonic device used to remember the order of sharps - F, C, G, D, A, E, B. It's used in multiple steps for labeling the major keys with sharps on the circle of fifths. This pattern and mnemonic device helps memorize the placement of major keys on the sharp side.

💡Battle Ends

Battle Ends is a mnemonic for remembering the order of flats - B, E, A, D, G, C, F. It's used when labeling the major keys on the flat side of the circle. Memorizing this pattern through the mnemonic helps place major keys with flats properly on the circle.

💡interval

An interval refers to the difference between two musical pitches. The script mentions that the circle moves in intervals of fifths, like C to G. Intervals will be explained more in later videos, but relate to building scales and chords.

💡Enharmonic

Enharmonic notes or keys refer to notes and keys that sound the same pitch but are written differently. For example, D-sharp and E-flat are enharmonics. The script explains how the last 3 majors on each side of the circle are enharmonics, like C-sharp major and D-flat major.

💡Memorization tricks

The script provides multiple memory techniques to help learn the circle, like mnemonics, coloring, labeling frameworks, timed practice, etc. These allow you to memorize all the key details in the chart through repetition and visual/auditory patterns.

💡Practice and application

The ultimate goal is to memorize the circle through practice so you can accurately apply the information while playing, composing and analyzing music. The script has practical examples of looking up key signatures, relative minors, scales, and more using the chart.

💡Music theory concepts

The circle of fifths brings together many core music theory concepts like major/minor scales, key signatures, relative keys and enharmonic relationships. Learning and memorizing it provides a strong foundation for more complex theory.

Highlights

The circle of fifths shows you every single scale with the relative majors and minors plus the key signatures.

C major goes outside the circle. All the scales here are majors. Inside we have the relative minor scales.

Father Charles goes down and ends battle follows the same pattern we just learned for the major scales.

Battle ends and down goes Charles Father completes the flat major scales.

Remember that in A flat major, F and A flat are relative minors. Everything else just falls into place.

F sharp and A are lined up again just like F and A flat. This helps remember the relative minors.

It's called the circle of fifths because it always moves in fifths between keys - C to F is a fifth.

You can use the circle to easily look up key signatures, relative majors/minors, and scale information.

B major and C flat major are the same notes played differently. This is called enharmonic equivalence.

The last 3 majors on each side are enharmonically equivalent to majors on the other side.

Practice drawing the whole circle under 1 minute, clearly. Aim for 50 perfect drawings.

This shows all the scales in existence at a glance and helps memorize them.

Go back and review the video steps for drawing the circle of fifths.

Enjoy your music theory classes and let me know if you have any other questions!

Take care and I'll talk to you later, see ya!

Transcripts

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