Making Joyful Noises

Scales

The Circle of Fifths Nothing is more important for a budding musician than to memorize the essential elements of music theory. Don’t fret, though; this isn’t hard. You will learn that if you master a few simple rules of music theory, you will be able to apply them in numerous musical contexts. In music theory, a little knowledge goes a long way!

as fourth) degree of a key scale, depending on which direction you go. For example, beginning at “C,” if you go counterclockwise, you will encounter “G,” which is the of “C.” “D” is the of “G,” and so on. Again, beginning at “C” and going clockwise, you will encounter “F” which is the of “C.” “B flat” is the of “F”, and so on. The rule is simple: for any scale on the circle, its is on the and its is on the fifth fifth fourth fourth fourth fifth right left.

The Circle of Fifths (illustrated below) is a wonderful way to memorize the critical fifth (as well

C

G

F

D

B

A

E

A

E

D

C

G

C

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F

Making Joyful Noises: Master ing the Fundamentals of Music • 11