Circle of Fifths

 

The good news is that this is not confusing once you understand it. 

The circle of fifths is a helpful tool that shows you all of the major (and minor) scales and their respective accidentals (sharps or flats) which make up their key signature. I suggest that you print this out or copy it down for your reference.

The reason this is called the circle of fifths is because as you travel from one key to the next, it is a perfect fifth away. Remember the scale degrees? If you are in the key of C major and you find the fifth note of the scale or a P5, it is the key of G major. Traveling clockwise on the circle of fifths, C to G is a perfect fifth. This holds true for the entire circle.

Each key will have a different key signature which is notated on the staff immediately after the treble clef. Looking at the chart, each key has its own key signature on the staff conveniently placed in the same wedge. For example:

In the key of G major, there is one sharp:

The note that has the sharp is the note of "F." Do you know why there is an F# in the key of G Major? If you think back to the formula for a major scale (whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step), in order to make the last half step, the note of F must be raised by making it sharp.

Why don't we call it G Flat instead of F Sharp?

We are trying to establish the key of G Major. It is the key of G Major, not G Flat Major (Gb Major). One note cannot have two names in the same key. If we made the key signature have one flat, we would never know when we should play a G natural or a G flat.

In general, key signatures offer the ability to write music without constantly writing out the sharps and flats for every note. Although this would mean more income for the printing business, it is very tedious work for a composer and very difficult to read for a musician.

You may also have noticed that there are three major scales that are enharmonic, meaning that they can have two different names the same as one note can have two different names. These scales are only allowed because they do not break the above rule of naming a note two different names within the same key. If this is confusing, please email me. A blog alone will not answer this question sufficiently.

Do your best to memorize the major keys by the key signature. A good musician is able to recognize any key by the key signature within seconds. If you make flash cards yourself, it will give you good practice drawing a treble clef, flats, and sharps.

Scale Degrees FYI

The key of C Major is a good starting point because it has no flats or sharps and is best for learning purposes. We learned that the major scale is made up of whole steps and half steps and we learned the names for all of the given pitches A through G and their respective flats, sharps and naturals. However, we can also look at the pitches in relation to each other within a major scale: 

Pitch C to D can be considered a "major second." (M2)

From C to E is a "major third." (M3)

C to F is a "perfect fourth." (P4)

C to G is a "perfect fifth." (P5)

C to A is a "major sixth." (M6)

C to b is a "major seventh." (M7)

Each pitch in a major scale also has a more elaborate name as noted above. These names we will address in the future when talking about songs and chords.

Pitches

The last post was all about reading rhythm and understanding the placement of notes and rests. Now we can start to cover pitch, the highness or lowness of sound. On the staff each line and space represent one pitch.

 Notice that the pitches are in alphabetical order A through G. As they ascend vertically, the pitch is higher and vice versa. Also take note of the ledger lines, the lines that extend beyond the staff for further notation. Ledger lines can extend as long as needed and do not disrupt the order of the pitches.

* IMPORTANT NOTE: Many of us have been taught the lines and spaces separately by using mnemonic devices ("face" and "E.very G.ood B.oy D.oes F.ine"). Although this is a good way to memorize the lines and spaces for taking a test, it is a very poor method for reading music. Music, even very slow music, moves too quickly for every musician to go through their mnenomic device so they can play the proper pitch.

You may have also noticed a treble clef or g clef.

This clef looks like a fancy "g" and it just so happens to wrap around the line that is, in fact, the pitch of "g." The clef is important to musicians playing different instruments. There are many different clefs, but for learning purposes, the treble clef will suffice for now.

In addition to the notes on the staff, there are three other symbols that change the pitch: (in order) flat, sharp, and natural signs.

The flat looks like a letter "b" that is watching its figure, the sharp is a number sign appropriately diagonally placed and the natural sign is a diagonal box with the left and right sides extending.

These symbols help establish scales, or logical progressions of half steps and whole steps. For this, we must look to a piano keyboard.

  White keys are all considered "natural." That is they have no flats or sharps assigned to them. Black keys are assigned flats and sharps such as A flat or C sharp.

 You may have noticed that the black keys have both a flat and sharp name. That is because they are considered enharmonic. This means that C sharp and D flat are one and the same note. Why? Please read on.


A major scale is made up of half steps and whole steps:

Any two keys that are directly next to one another are separated by a half step. Two half steps make up a whole step. The chart above is the best example and least confusing. Notice that there are two places where there is no black key and, instead two white keys are in direct contact. It is marked in red as a half step because they aren't separated. It is only a half step.


Starting on "c" on the keyboard and as noted above, a C Major Scale follows this pattern:


whole / whole / half / whole / whole / whole / half


What is wonderful about this formula, is that it works starting on any note. However, be prepared to use the black keys if you're starting on a different note other than "c." A half step is one between two notes that are right next to each other. The key of C Major is the only key without any flats or sharps (black keys).

Let us try the key of E Major on the piano. Go to an online piano keyboard to hear this aloud.

First find the pitch "e" on the piano. Play (or click if online) the note. Now move up one whole step. You should now be on f sharp. Play this note. Continue to follow the formula of whole and half steps ( W / W / H / W / W / W / H ) and you will have played a major scale.


Now try the scale of E Flat Major. Find the e flat on the keyboard and follow the same rules.


You can start on any pitch, using the formula above and play a major scale.

Introduction

This is primarily a lesson on musical symbols and their individual purposes. Above is a staff with rhythmic values. Each note is paired with a rest on the same staff (eighth note and eighth rest). They are the same duration. The only difference is a note indicates when to play and a rest indicates when to remain silent.

A breakdown of the notes or rests:
whole note has a value of 4 beats (it is just an empty oval)
half note has a value of 2 beats (an empty oval with a line)
quarter note has a value of 1 beat (a filled in oval with a line)
eighth note has a value of half a beat or is a division of a quarter note (same with one flag)
sixteenth note is a division of the eighth note or has a value of half of an eighth note (two flags)

The same rules apply to the rests.

Notes and rests make up rhythms which is the aspect of time in music.

All of the above notes and rests are placed on a musical staff of five lines. 

 
On the staff, a time signature is placed. A time signature indicates how many beats are in a measure and what the value of each beat is. For example:

The time signature 4/4 shows us two numbers. The top number tells us how many beats are in a measure. There are four beats in a measure. The bottom number tells us the value of each beat. The value is 1/4 or a quarter note. Therefore, in 4/4, there are four beats in a measure each worth a quarter note.


A measure is marked off by bar lines. 

Notice in the example above that there are three different time signatures. The first is in 4/4 time and contains quarter notes and a quarter rest. Because you may only have four quarter notes or rests in one measure, both measures are written correctly.

The second staff has a time signature of 3/4 and uses quarter notes, quarter rests, and a half note. In 3/4 there are three beats per measure, each worth a quarter note. Look at the second measure. Because a half note is worth two quarter notes, the second measure shows one half note and one quarter note. It adds up to three quarter notes. We will learn how to count this out loud.


The last example is in 2/4. Notice that the eighth notes are tied together with a bar line rather than all being separate with individual flags. This is a standard way of writing and can also be used with sixteenth notes. In 2/4 there are two notes per measure, each worth a quarter note. Because two eighth notes are equal to one quarter note, in 2/4 you can fill a measure with four eighth notes as pictured above.