Download - Master the Circle of 5ths - Scott-Harris
WelcometoBaseCampWhenyouclimbamountainforthefirsttime,youbringaguide.
Thesameruleappliestoanyjourneyyouareunfamiliarwith:
Bringsomeonewhohasmadethejourneybefore.
Itmakesthewholeprocesseasier,smoother,andmoreenjoyable.
Learningtoplaytheguitarisajourney…
…letmebeyourguide.
Thisbookcontainsimportantinformationthatwillimproveyourplaying,butyou’llneedmoreifyouwanttobecomeakillerguitarist.
Fortunately,I’vegotyoucovered.
IputtogetheranUltimateBeginnersGuitarGuide.Itcontains21beginnerguitarlessonsdesignedtogetyouplayingfullsongsontheguitarquickly.
ItalsohasaPDFfullofscalepositionsandfretboardpatternsthatanyguitaristwillbenefitfromlearning.
Bestpart:it’s100%FREE.
Todownloadyourcopyoftheguide,visitthislink,thenenteryournameandemail.
http://yourfreeguitargift.gr8.com
Ipromiseyouwillneverreceivespam.Iamincompletecontrolofthemessagesthatgetsentout,andtheyareallusefulandguitarrelated.
IspendalotoftimepracticingtheguitarwithmybestfriendCharlie.You’llonlyeverreceivemessagesIwouldfeelcomfortablesendingtoCharlie,orthatIwouldwantinmyowninbox.
Youcanalwaysunsubscribefrommylistafteryou’vedownloadedtheguitarguidetoo–nohardfeelings.
Allthebest,
Scott
TableofContentsIntroduction
MusicalLanguage
TheStringsandtheFretboard
IntroductiontotheCircleof5ths
NotesandtheCircleof5ths
MusicalKeysandtheCircleof5ths
ChordsandtheCircleof5ths
SharpsandFlats
Circleof5thsforMinorKeys
Conclusion
OtherBooksI’veWritten
IntroductionIneverconsideredmyselftobeamusicianwhenIwasgrowingup.Infact,IwasthoroughlyconvincedIdidnothavewhatittakestobeabletoplaymusic.Itookcellolessonsandfailedmiserable.Itookpianolessonswithoutmakingmuchprogress.Isortoflearnedtoplaytherecorderinschool,ifyoucancallplayinghotcrossbunsplaying.
WhatI’mgettingatisthatIwasaterriblemusician.Icouldn’tsing,Icouldn’tkeeptime,Icouldn’tplayaninstrument,thelistofthingsIcouldn’tdowithrespecttomusicislong.Ifoundthisparticularlyfrustratingbecausemyfatherisanabsolutelyfantasticprofessionalsaxophoneplayer.Ifiguredsomewhereinmetherehadtobeaninherenttalentformusic.
Iwasverywrong.
WhatIrealizedasIgrewolderwasthatmyfatherdidn’thaveaninherentmusicaltalenteither.Whathedidhavewasanunstoppabledrivetosucceed.
IttookmeafewyearstogetovermyfalseideathatIcouldneverbeagoodmusician.MyfatherhadboughtmeaguitaryearsbeforeasaChristmaspresent.Itwassittinginadustycaseinmyroom,neglected.IhadrecentlymetamannamedJacob,anotheramazingmusician.Jacob’stalentwaswithstringinstruments,particularlythebass.IaskedhisadviceaboutwhatIshouldlearnfirst.
Hetoldmetolearnmusictheory,soIwentonlineandbegantoread.Ireadalotandstartedtoteachmyselfscales.Iwasstillreallyterribleattheguitarforawhile,butIkeptatit,andslowlyIimproved.
Istressthewordslowly.
IaskedJacobtoteachmeguitar,andhesaidhewould.IquicklyfoundoutthatJacob–despitebeingawonderfulplayer–isahorribleteacher.Hisproblemisthathecannotthinklikeabeginner,hecannotbreakdowntheknowledgeandpresentitinbitesizedpiecesthatareeasytoswallowanddigest.
Iwrotethisbookwiththatinmind.
Duringtheprocessofteachingmyselftheguitar,Ilearnedalotabouthowtoteachguitar.IappliedwhatIlearnedtowritethisbook,whichisintendedtohelpyouunderstandthe
circleoffifths,andlearntouseitpractically.Thisbookisdesignedtobethethirdstepontheroadofmusic.Thefirsttwostepsarethebooksthatcomesbeforethisinmyguitarseries.
Youcanfindthefirstbookhere.
Youcanfindthesecondbookhere.
IbeginwithashortexplanationofMusicalLanguage,thenIexplaintheStringsandFretboard.Thisinformationisidenticaltothefirsttwochaptersinthefirstandsecondbooksoftheseries,becausethisbookisdesignedtostandalone–Idon’twantsomeonewhodoesn’tdesiretopurchasemyotherbookstobeinthedarkaboutsomething.Ifyou’vealreadyreadthosesections,Isuggestyourereadthemasarecap,butitisn’tstrictlynecessary.
I’mstilllearningtoday.Musicisextremelycomplicatedandeclectic.IknowforafactthatIwillnevermastermusic,butthat’snotmygoal.Mygoalistobeabletoplaywithotherpeopleandenjoydoingit.Icandothatnow,andifyouworkhard,youtoowillbeabletohavefunwithmusic.
Iwishyouthebest,
MusicalLanguageIhighlyrecommendyoureadthisbookwithpaperandpencil.Writeoutthecircleof5ths,musicalnotes,patterns,andanythingelseyouarelearning.
Thefirststeptotrulyunderstandingscalesistounderstandtheguitarfretboard.Iwouldrecommendmemorizingthefretboardtoanyonewhoisseriousaboutlearningguitar.But,onceyouunderstandthebasicstructureyou’llseepatternseverywhere.
Musicismadeupofnotesthatfollowapattern.Youcanthinkofthesenotesinalotofways,butmostofthemwon’thelpyoutocommunicatewithothermusiciansorusethehugeamountofthematerialalreadyavailable.Thereisamusicallanguagethathasbecomestandard:everyoneusesitsoeveryonecancommunicate,strangerornot.
ThebackboneofthismusicallanguageisthefirstsevenlettersoftheEnglishalphabet,generallybeginningwithC.Youshouldknowthatthisisanarbitrarystartingpoint,thereisno“first”noteor“last”note.
C•D•E•F•G•A•B
Certainnoteshavein-betweennotes,thesearecalledsharpsandflats.
Inthisbook,I’mgoingtousea#signtoindicatethatanoteissharp,andalowercasebtoindicatethatanoteisflat.
Forexample,thenotebetweenAandBisAsharp(A#)orBflat(Bb).AsharpandBflataredifferentnamesforthesamenote.Whenyou’regoingupthenotes,oftenyouusesharps(C•C#•D)andyouuseflatswhengoingdown(D•Db•C)Allofthesharpsandflatswrittenoutinorderlooklikethis:
NoticethatbetweenBandC,andbetweenEandFtherearenosharpsorflats.ThisdoesnotmeanthereisnoEsharp.WhatitmeansisthatEsharpisF.
Youcanthinkofasharp(♯)asanoteplus1/2,andaflat(♭)asanoteminus1/2.Aplus1/2(A♯)isthesameasBminus1/2(B♭).
Thefretboardofaguitar(andeveryotherstringinstrument)canbedescribedentirelywiththesenotes.
TableofContents
TheStringsandtheFretboardTheguitarhassixstrings.Theletterassociatedwitheachstringdecideswhereintheseriesofnotesyoubegin.Onaguitarinstandardtuning,thesixstringsare:
e(thineststring,highpitch,knownasthehighEstring)
B
G
D
A
E(thickeststring,lowpitch,knownasthelowEstring)
NOTE:lowandhighrefertothepitchofanote,NOTthepositionofthestringontheguitar.Lowisdeep,highishigh.
Aneasywaytorememberwhichstringiswhichisbyassociation.Iliketolinkstringstogether.Thetwostringsontheoutside(thethickestandthinneststrings)arebothE.OnestringinfrombothEstringsareAandB.Ifyougoup(inpitch)fromthelowEstring,theyareinalphabeticalorder(AthenB).Theinsidetwostringsarealsoinalphabeticalorder(DthenG).
Youcanalsouseamnemonicsuchas:
EddieAteDynamite,GoodByeEddie
ForboththelowEstringandhighEstring,thenotesare:
IfyouplaythelowEstringopen,itwillbethenoteE.IfyouplaythehighEstringopen,itwillbeadifferentEnote.IfyouputafingeronthefirstfretoftheEstringthenotewillbeF.IfyouputafingeronthefifthfretoftheEstringthenotewillbeA.
NOTE:Afretisaraisedelementontheneckoftheguitar,usuallyasmallmetalbarinsertedintothefretboard.Whenastringinstrumentdoesnothavefrets,thefretboardiscalledafingerboardinstead.
ThingscangetREALLYcomplicatedhere,I’lltrytokeepitassimpleaspossible.
Ontheguitar,eachfretrepresentsonesemitone.Asemitoneisalsocalledahalfsteporahalftone.Twelvesemitonesmakeoneoctave.Anoctaveistheintervalbetweenonemusicalpitchandanotherwithhalfordoubleitsfrequency.
Insimpleterms,anoctaveisthedistancebetweentwoofthesamenotes.CtoCforexample:
TheContheleftisanoctaveawayfromtheContheright.
Everytimeyougofromonenotetothenextnote,yougouponesemitoneoronehalfstep.CtoD♭isonesemitone,oronehalfstep.D♭toDisalsoonesemitone,oronehalfstep.CtoDisawholestep.
Let’sreturntothestringsontheguitar.Hereisadiagramthatshowsafretboarduptothe12thfret:
NoticethatthelowEstringisatthebottom.Whenyouholdtheguitar,thelowEstringwillbethestringclosesttoyou.
Imagineyouhaveafewrulers.Ifyoulaythemallnexttoeachother,thenumberslineup:
Butifyouslideoneoftherulersover,thenumbersdon’tmatchupanymore.
BUT…thedistancebetweeneachnumberisstillthesame.1isstill1awayfrom2.2isstill1awayfrom3,andsoon.
Thisisexactlyhowstringsaresetup.IfyouhadaguitarwithsixEstrings,itwouldlooklikethis:
Ifwedowhatwedidfortherulerexampleand‘slide’onestringover,theseriesofnotesstaysthesame,butthepositionsofthenotesrelativetoeachotherchanges.Thisiswhattuningastringdoes,withoutmovingthestringitself.Ifwetuneeachstringsotheguitarisinstandardtuning(EADGBe),thefretboardlookslikethis:
Thisbringsupanimportantpoint.Whatisthedistancebetweenstrings?Whatisthedistanceonthe‘musicalruler’betweenthelowEstringandtheAstring?Whatabouttheotherstrings?
Thisdistanceismeasuredwiththenumberofsemitonesittakestogetfromonenoteto
another.
Eachnumberofsemitoneshasaname,shownbelow:
0semitones-Unison(example:CtoC)
1semitones-Minor2nd(example:CtoC#)
2semitones-Major2nd(example:CtoD)
3semitones-Minor3rd(example:CtoD#)
4semitones-Major3rd(example:CtoE)
5semitones-Perfect4th(example:CtoF)
6semitones-Augmented4th/Diminished5th(example:CtoF#)
7semitones-Perfect5th(example:CtoG)
8semitones-Augmented5th/Minor6th(example:CtoG#)
9semitones-Diminished7th(example:CtoA)
10semitones-Minor7th(example:CtoA#)
11semitones-Major7th(example:CtoB)
12semitones-Octave(example:CtoC)
Tofigureoutthedistancebetweenstrings,allyouneedtodoiscountthenumberofsemitones.
E…F…F#…G…G#…A
Fisone.F#istwo.Gisthree.G#isfour.Aisfive.SoEandAareaPerfect4thaway.Let’sdothesameforAtoD.
A…A#…B…C…C#…D
A#isone.Bistwo.Cisthree.C#isfour.Disfive.SoAandDareaPerfect4thaway.
DtoGisalsoa4th.
GtoBisaMajor3rdaway.
G…G#…A…A#…B
Last,BandEarea4thaway.
Youdon’tneedtomemorizealloftheintervalsbeforemovingon.Eventually,itwillhelpyoutoknowthemall.I’llcoverthisinformationingreaterdetailinafuturebook.
Fornow,Isuggestyouremember:
3semitones-Minor3rd
4semitones-Major3rd
5semitones-Perfect4th
7semitones-Perfect5th
12semitones-Octave
TableofContents
IntroductiontotheCircleof5thsThecircleof5thsisanextremelypowerfulmusicaltool–ifyouknowhowtouseit.
Thecircleof5thsisavisualtool,awayofarrangingnotesinthepatternof5ths.
Thisbookismoreadvancedthanthefirsttwointheseries.Youneedsomebasicmusictheoryknowledgetoreallyunderstandwhatisgoingon.Ifyou’vereadthefirsttwobooksinmyStraightforwardGuitarLessonsseries,you’reperfectlypreparedforthelessonsinthisbook.
Ifyouhaven’t,youcanstilllearnthecircleof5thsandgetsomethingfromthisbook.
First,let’slearnhowtobuildthecircleof5ths:
BeginwithacircleseparatedintotwelvesectionsthathasaCatthetop.ManymusicalthingsbeginwithC.
Tofigureoutwhatthenextnoteis,weneedtodosomecounting.
Recallthatthedistancebetweennotesiscalledaninterval.Tofindthenextnoteinthe
circleof5ths,weneedtofindthenotethatisa5thawayfromC.
A5thissevensemitones,sowecancountfromC:
C…C#…D…D#…E…F…F#…G
C#is1.Dis2.D#is3.Eis4.Fis5.F#is6.Gis7.
SoGisa5thawayfromC,andthenextnoteonthecircleof5ths.
Wecancontinueinthismanner,countingtofindthefifths.
FromGwecancountupanothersevensemitones:
G…G#…A…A#…B…C…C#…D
Disthenextnoteonthecircleoffifths.
Trycountingouttheremainingnotesyourself.Stopwhenyougettothebottomofthecircle.ThatnoteshouldbeF#,andthecirclewilllooklikethis:
Youcancontinuearoundthecircle,countingforwardsevensemitoneslikeyou’vebeen.Ithinkit’seasiertogobacktothetopandcountbackwardfromCaroundtheleftsideofthecircle.
FromCwecountbackward7semitones:
C…B…Bb…A…Ab…G…Gb…F
Recallthatwhenyoucountbackward,youuseflats(b)insteadofsharps(#).BbisthesamenoteasA#,justwithadifferentname.
Continuecountingbackwarduntilyou’vefilledtheentirecircle.
Ifyouwanttofigureoutthecircleof5thsinthefuture,youcanalwayscountitoutagain.
Ifinditusefultousemnemonics,patternsoflettersthathelpyouremembertheorderofnotes.
Youcanremembertherightsideofthecirclewiththismnemonic:
CarolineGetsDrunkAndEatsButterFlies
Theleftsidecanberememberedwiththismnemonic:
CarolineFondlesBEADs
TheBEADnotesaretheflats.
Nowthatyoucanbuildthecircleof5thsandhaveawaytorememberit,let’sgetintowhyitsuseful.
Hereisthemostimportantideaintheentirebook:
Thelettersaroundthecircle(C,G,D,etc)canrepresentmorethanjustnotes.Theycanrepresentnotes,keys,orchords.
I’mgoingtodiscussallthreeuses,sodon’tworryifthisimportantideadoesn’tmakesenseyet.Itwill.
TableofContents
NotesandtheCircleof5thsIhighlyrecommendyoureadthisbookwithpaperandpencil.Writeoutthecircleof5ths,musicalnotes,patterns,andanythingelseyouarelearning.
FirstIwanttotalkaboutnotesandtheirusewiththecircleof5ths.
Let’ssayyouwanttoknowwhatnotesareinaCmajorchord.
YouknowthefirstnoteisaCbecausethefirstnoteofaCchordisalwaysC.
Cmajorisa3notechord:
C??
Thesecondnoteinamajorchordisalwaysamajorthirdawayfromthefirstnote.
Amajorthirdisfoursemitones(ortwowholesteps)sowecancountfromCtofindthemiddlenote.
C…C#…D…D#…E
NowourCmajorchordlookslikethis:
CE?
Thethirdnoteinamajorchordisalwaysa5thawayfromthefirstnote.Youcouldcountsevensemitonestofindthatfifth,oryoucouldrefertoyourcircleoffifthsandseethatGisa5thawayfromC.SothenotesofaCmajorchordare:
CEG
Youcanalsousethecircleof5thstonavigateyourfretboard.
Mostguitarplayersknowstandardtuning,meaningtheycanidentifythestringsbynotename:thelowEstring,A,D,G,B,andhighEstring.
ForarefresherrefertothesectionTheStringsandtheFretboard.
Eachofthesestringsgetsitsnamefromthenotethatsoundswhenitisplayedopen.
Let’ssayyouwanttoknowwhatthenotesofthe7thfretareforallsixstrings.Youcouldcountallsevensemitonesforeachnotetofigureitout…butthatwouldtakeforever!
Instead,youcanrefertoyourcircleoffifths.
Thenoteatthe7thfretofthelowEstringisa5thawayfromtheEnotethatsoundswhenyouplaythelowEstringopen.
Thiscomesfromthedefinitionofa5th,whichyoualreadyknowis7semitones.
FindtheEnoteonthecircleof5ths.NowlookatthenotesnexttotheE:thereisaBnoteandanAnote.Bothofthesenotesarea5thawayfromE,justindifferentdirections.Sinceweareascendinginpitchonthefretboard,wemustgoclockwisearoundthecircleof5ths.
TIP:Ifyouareascendinginpitch,goaroundthecircleclockwise.Ifyouaredescendinginpitch,goaroundthecirclecounterclockwise.Thiscanbeconfusing,sotakeaminutetothinkaboutitsoyoudon’taccidentallygothewrongway!
Youcanfigureouttheothernotesonthe7thfretjustaseasilyusingthecircleof5ths.
FortheAstring,the7thnoteisE.
FortheDstring,the7thnoteisA
FortheGstring,the7thnoteisD.
FortheBstring,the7thnoteisF#.
ForthehighEstring,the7thnoteisthesameasforthelowEstring:B.
Canyouseethepattern?
Youcanusethe7thfretasreferencenotesforotherfrets.Forexample,ifyouwantedtoknowthenoteatthe5thfretofthelowEstring,youcouldjumpa5thupfromEtoB,whichisthe7thfret,thenfallbackawholesteptothe5thfret.AwholestepdownfromBisA.
Itsoundslikealotofstepswhenyouwriteitout,butinyourbrain,thatprocesshappensquickly.Betteryet,afteryou’vedoneitafewtimes,you’llrememberthenoteswithouteventryingbecauseyouunderstandtherelationshipbetweenthenotes.
Eventually,you’llknowtherelationshipsbetweennotessowellthatyoudon’tneedtojumptothe7thfretandfallback.You’llknowimmediatelythatAisaperfect4thofE.
Youcanbuildacircleof4ths,major3rds,minor3rds,etc.Afteryou’vemasteredthecircleof5ths,Isuggestyoumakecirclesfortheotherintervalssoyoucanseethepattern.
Thecircleof5thsisundoubtedlythemostimportant,butyouwillstillbenefitfrommakingcirclesbasedonotherintervals.
TableofContents
MusicalKeysandtheCircleof5thsFirst,let’sdoashortrecap:
Manyscalescanbeputintooneofsevencategories(knownasmodes)basedonthepatternofintervalsbetweenthenotes.
Forexample,beginonthenoteCandincludeonlythenaturalnotes(naturalnotesdon’thavesharpsorflats):
C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C
Ifyoucounttheintervalsbetweenthenotes,yougetthispattern:
W=Wholestep(2semitones)
H=HalfStep(1semitone)
W•W•H•W•W•W•H
Youcanconfirmthisyourselfbycountingwholeandhalfsteps:
CtoDisaWholestep.
DtoEisaWholestep.
EtoFisaHalfstep.
FtoGisaWholestep.
GtoAisaWholestep.
AtoBisaWholestep.
BtoCisaHalfstep.
ThisscaleisintheIonianMode
ScalesbuiltwiththepatternoftheIonianModearecalledMajorScales.
ChordsbuiltfromthenotesofamajorscalearecalledMajorChords.
So,howdoesthishelpusunderstandmusicalkeys?
Well…Amusicalkeyisasetofnotesthatcorrespondstoaparticularscale.
Ifyou’reinthekeyofCmajor,youknowthatallofthenotesintheCmajorscalearepartofthatkey:
C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C
Ifyou’replayingasonginthekeyofC,all(ormost)ofthenotesandchordswillbemadeofthenotesshownabove.Thekeyisyourguide:ittellsyouwhichnotesarelikelytosoundgood,andwhichnotesarelikelytosoundbad.
Whenyouplayusingonlynoteswithinakey,thatmusicissaidtobediatonic.Mostmusictodayusesnotesoutsideofaparticularkey.Whenyouuseanoteoutsideofaparticularkeyitiscalledachromaticalteration.
Whenplayeddiatonically,musictendstosoundvanilla.Therearenoextraorspecialqualitiestothemusic.Inotherwords,it’sboring.Chromaticalterationsmakemusicmoreinterestingwhenusedcorrectly.Thisideaisveryimportantinmusic.Idon’tcoveritinthisbook,butIintendtoinfuturebooks.
Theseterms(diatonicandchromaticalteration)arenotnecessaryforunderstandingthecircleof5ths.ThedifferencebetweenthemwillbeimportantforunderstandingsomeoftheexercisesIdiscussinlatersections.
Here’swhatyoushouldremember:diatonicmeansyouonlyusenotesfoundinakey.Whenyoustayinthatkeybutintroducenewnotes,theyarechromaticalterations.
Let’ssayyou’vebeenplayinginthekeyofCmajor.You’veonlybeenusingthenotesyouknowarepartoftheCmajorscale(diatonic)…butyou’vegottenboredwiththosenotes.Youwanttointroducesomenewnotes(withoutanychromaticalterations,inthiscase)…youwanttochangethekeyofthemusicyouareplaying.
HowdoyouknowwhichkeywillsoundgoodafterCmajor?
Yourefertoyourcircleof5ths.
Youshouldnowthinkaboutthelettersaroundthecircleof5thsasmusicalkeys,NOTnotes.
ThekeysthatwillsoundgoodafterCmajorarenexttoCmajoronthecircleof5ths:
GmajorandFmajor.
NOTE:Otherkeyscanalsosoundgood,notjustonesa5thawayfromthekeyyouarein.
Let’slookatthenotesinGmajorandFmajortoseewhytheyfitwellwithCmajor.
ThenotesofGmajorandFmajorcanbefiguredoutbycountingusingthepatternofamajorscale(Ionian):
W•W•H•W•W•W•H
ForGmajorthenotesare:
G•A•B•C•D•E•F#•G
ForFmajorthenotesare:
F•G•A•Bb•C•D•E•F
NoticehowforbothGmajorandFmajor,sixofthesevennotesarethesameastheyareforCmajor.
ForGmajor,theFbecomesanF#.
ForFmajor,theBbecomesaBb.
Ifyou’replayinginthekeyofCmajorandyouswitchtothekeyofGmajor(orthekeyofFmajor),onlyonenotechanges.Thatmeansitwillbealoteasierontheearsthanifyouweretoswitchtoakeythatdoesn’tshareasmanynotes.
Forexample,ifyouwereplayinginthekeyofCmajoranddecidedtoswitchtothekeyofF#major,yournoteswouldbe:
F#•G#•A#•B•C#•D#•E#•F#
TheonlynotesharedbythekeysofCmajorandF#majorisB.Thatmeanseveryothernotewillbenew.Allofthenewnoteswillbehardontheearsandmakethetransitionawkward.
Hereinliesthepowerofthecircleof5thswhenappliedtomusicalkeys.
So…whatifyoudidwanttotransitionfromthekeyofCmajortothekeyofF#major.Wealreadyknowyoucannotgothereimmediately,therearetoomanynewnotesforthetransitiontogosmoothly.
Whatyoucandoisworkyourwayaroundthecircleof5ths,usingthekeysin-betweenCmajorandF#major.
Forexample,youcouldbegininthekeyofCmajorandplaysomenotes.ThenyoucouldswitchtoGmajor(introduceonenewnote)andplaythereforashorttimebeforetransitioningagaintoDmajor,ormaybeAmajor.Amajorisn’ttoofarawayfromGmajor,sothetransitionwon’tbeawkwardifdonecorrectly.Youcouldcontinueinthismanner,movingoneortwokeysatatime(introducingthenewnotesontheway)untilyouarriveatF#.
Bydoingthis,youintroducethenewnotesoneortwoatatime.Yougetthelistenercomfortablewiththenewnotesbeforeintroducingsomethingnew.
Youcanthinkaboutthislikewalkingupahill.Ifyouwalkupahillwithagentleslope,it’snotverydifficult.Ifyouinsteadwalkupahillofthesameheightwithaharshslope,itISdifficult.Ittakeslongertowalkupthegentleslope,butit’seasiertodo.Inmusic,youalmostalwayswanttotakethelisteneronthegentlepath.
Asyoubecomeabettermusicianandunderstandmusictheorybetter,youwillbeabletomakedifficulttransitionssoundbetter.Thesedifficulttransitions,whendonecorrectly,makemusicmore‘interesting’forthelistener.
Thinkofitthisway:sayyou’reagoodenoughmusicianthatwhenlisteningtomusic,youcanhearthenotesbeingused.Thisgivesyouagoodideaofthenotesthatarelikelytocomenext,becauseyouknowallofyourscales,yourcircleof5ths,andmore.
Butthenthemusicianplayingusesanoteyouaren’texpectinginawaythatsoundsgood.Youweren’texpectingit,butitwasn’tawkward,sothemusichasbecome‘moreinteresting.’
Spendsometimethinkingaboutthisidea.Moreimportantly,improvisewithyourguitarincertainkeysandpracticingchangingtonewkeys,introducingnotesslowly.
Youshouldalsotrytransitioningtokeysontheothersideofthecircleoffifths.Hearwhatthechangeinnotesislike.Trytounderstandwhysomethingsoundsgoodorbad.IgivemorespecificsaboutthisideainthesectionCircleof5thsforMinorKeys.
Foryourreference,I’veincludedallofthenotesforeachMajorkeybelow.Theyappearintheorderprovidedbythecircleof5thssoyoucanseewhichnoteschangeasyougoaroundthecircleclockwise.
Notes&PatternsofMajorScales
(ScalesintheIonianModes-Pattern:W•W•H•W•W•W•H)
CMajor
Notes:C•D•E•F•G•A•B
GMajor
Notes:G•A•B•C•D•E•F#
DMajor
Notes: D•E•F#•G•A•B•C#
AMajor
Notes: A•B•C#•D•E•F#•G#
EMajor
Notes: E•F#•G#•A•B•C#•D#
BMajor
Notes: B•C#•D#•E•F#•G#•A#
F#Major
Notes: F#•G#•A#•B•C#•D#•E#
DbMajor
Notes: Db•Eb•F•Gb•Ab•Bb•C
AbMajor
Notes: Ab•Bb•C•Db•Eb•F•G
EbMajor
Notes: Eb•F•G•Ab•Bb•C•D
BbMajor
Notes: Bb•C•D•Eb•F•G•A
FMajor
Notes: F•G•A•Bb•C•D•E
TableofContents
ChordsandtheCircleof5thsNowlet’stalkaboutusingthecircleof5thsforchordsinsteadofnotes.
Forthepurposeofourdiscussion,thelettersaroundthecircleof5thsnowrepresentchordsinsteadofnotes.TheCatthetoprepresentsCmajor,theG,Gmajor,andsoon.
Let’ssaywe’reinthekeyofC.Arguably,thetwomostimportantchordsinanykeyarethetonicchord(Cmajor,inthekeyofC)andthedominantchord(alsoknownasthe5chordbecauseitisa5thawayfromthetonicchord).
TIP:Thedominantchordprovidesthetensioninakey.Youcanthinkofitastheoppositeofyourrootchord.It’sthedifferencebetweenthechordsthatprovidesthetension.
BecausetherootchordisCandweknowthecircleof5ths,it’seasytofigureoutwhatthedominantchordrelativetoCis:Gmajor.
This5threlationshipisimportant,andthecircleof5thsgivesyoueasyaccesstotheinformation.
Manychordshaveeithera5chord(7semitones)oradiminished5th(6semitones).
Ifyouknowyourcircleof5ths,buildingthesechordsiseasy.
Thisapplicationofthecircleof5thsmayseemunimportantatthispointinyourstudyofmusictheory,butitwillbecomeimportantwhenyougetintochordconstruction.
TableofContents
SharpsandFlatsThecircleof5thsalsotellsyouifthereareanysharpsorflatsinakey,andevenwhichnotesaresharporflat.
Beginatthetop.ThekeyofChasnosharpsorflats.
Ifwegoclockwisearoundthecircle,thenumberofsharpsincreasesbyoneforeverynoteuntilwereachF#…
ThekeyofGhasonesharp.
ThekeyofDhastwosharps.
ThekeyofAhasthreesharps.
ThekeyofEhasfoursharps.
ThekeyofBhasfivesharps.
ThekeyofF#hassixsharps.
Here’showyoutellwhichnotesaresharpinthe6keyslistedabove.
BeginatG.Gocounterclockwisearoundthecircle2letters.YouenduponF.
TheonesharpinthekeyofGmajorisF#.
ForD,dothesame:gocounterclockwisearoundthecircle2letters.YouenduponC.OneofthesharpsforthekeyofDisC#.Theothersharpisonemorelettercounterclockwise:F#.
ForthekeyofA,dothesame:gocounterclockwisearoundthecircle2letters.YouenduponG.OneofthesharpsforthekeyofAisG#.Theothertwosharpsareoneandtwomoreletterscounterclockwise:C#andF#.
ThispatterncontinuesuntilyoureachthekeyofF#.
Herearethesharpsallwrittenoutsoyoucanseethepatternmoreeasily:
KeyofG:F#
KeyofD:F#•C#
KeyofA:F#•C#•G#
KeyofE:F#•C#•G#•D#
KeyofB:F#•C#•G#•D#•A#
KeyofF#: F#•C#•G#•D#•A#•E#
Hereisanotherwaytothinkaboutthispattern.Fromthekeyyouarethinkingabout,skiponelettergoingcounterclockwise.Alloftherestoftheletters–asyoucontinuecounterclockwise–aresharpsofthatkeyuntilyoureachF.
TIP:DonotconfuseFwithF#onthecircleof5ths!Thisproblemcanhappenwiththeflatstoo,don’tconfuseAforAb,DforDb,andsoon.
ForthekeyofA:
GocounterclockwisefromA…skipD…thesharpsareG#•C#•F#…justasshownabove.
Flatshaveasimilartrick.
Ifyougocounterclockwisearoundthecircle,thenumberofflatsincreasesbyoneforeverynoteuntilwereachDb.
ThekeyofFhas1flat.
ThekeyofBbhas2flats.
ThekeyofEbhas3flats.
ThekeyofAbhas4flats.
ThekeyofDbhas5flats.
Here’showyoutellwhichnotesareflatinthe5keyslistedabove.
BeginatF.Gocounterclockwisearoundthecircleoneletter.YouenduponBb.
The1flatofFisBb.
TofindtheflatsinthekeyofBb,youdothesamething.
BeginatBb.Gocounterclockwisearoundthecircleoneletter.YouenduponEb.
OneflatinthekeyBbisEb.TheotherflatinBbisBbitself.
Thepatternis:includeonenotepastthekeyinquestiongoinginacounterclockwisedirection,andallofthenotesbeforethekeyinquestionuptoBb.
Herearetheflatsallwrittenoutsoyoucanseethepatternmoreeasily:
KeyofF:Bb
KeyofBb: Bb•Eb
KeyofEb: Bb•Eb•Ab
KeyofAb: Bb•Eb•Ab•Db
KeyofDb: Bb•Eb•Ab•Db•Gb
NOTE:RecallthatF#andGbarethesamenotewithdifferentnames.ThisisanimportantpieceofinformationrightnowbecausetheF#atthebottomofthecircleof5thsiscalledaGbhere.It’scalledGbbecausewearelookingattheflatsofkeys.
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Circleof5thsforMinorKeysFirstIwanttotalkaboutminorscales.TheinformationI’mabouttoshareisimportanttounderstandthecircleof5thsforminorkeys.
RecallthatamajorscalefollowstheIonianpatternofwholeandhalfsteps:
W•W•H•W•W•W•H
ThiscomesfromthepatternnaturalnotesmakeifwebeginonC(naturalnotesdon’thavesharpsorflats):
C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C
CtoDisaWholestep.
DtoEisaWholestep.
EtoFisaHalfstep.
FtoGisaWholestep.
GtoAisaWholestep.
AtoBisaWholestep.
BtoCisaHalfstep.
TIP:Thewhitekeysonapianoarenaturalnotes,theblackkeysaresharpsandflats.Thepianokeyboardisanexcellentwaytovisualizenotes.
Minorscalesaresimilar,theonlydifferenceisthepatternofnotes.
ThepatternforaminorscalecomesfromtheAeolianmode,thepatternofnaturalnotesifwebeginonA:
A•B•C•D•E•F•G•A
Ifwecounttheintervalsbetweenthenotesweget:
W•H•W•W•H•W•W
AtoBisaWholestep.
BtoCisaHalfstep.
CtoDisaWholestep.
DtoEisaWholestep.
EtoFisaHalfstep.
FtoGisaWholestep.
GtoAisaWholestep.
Atthispoint,youknowhowtousethecircleof5thswithMajorkeys.
Butwhatifyouwanttoapplythecircleof5thstoMinorkeys?
Yourunintotwofundamentalproblems.
Recallthatoneuseofthecircleof5thsistofindoutwhichnotesinakeyaresharporflat.
C,atthetop,haszerosharpsorflats.It’sagreatplacetostartbecausethecircleisseparatedintotwosides:therightsidetellsyousharps,andtheleftsidetellsyouflats.
Ifwetrytobeginonthesamenote(C)forminorsaswedidformajors,werunintoourfirstproblem:
Cminorhasthreeflats,soitisn’tagoodplacetobeginourcircleof5thsforminorkeys.
WecanfindtheflatsinCminorbycountingusingthepatternforaminorscale(theAeolianpatternfromabove)
W•H•W•W•H•W•W
C•D•Eb•F•G•Ab•Bb•C
CtoDisaWholestep.
DtoEbisaHalfstep.
EbtoFisaWholestep.
FtoGisaWholestep.
GtoAbisaHalfstep.
AbtoBbisaWholestep.
BbtoCisaWholestep.
Lookatyourcircleoffifths,ontheleftside.ThethreeflatsforCminorareBb,Eb,andAb.
IfweputCminoratthetop,thereisn’taneasywaytofigureoutthesharpsandflatsforthekeyofCminor.
Thatsumsupthefirstproblem.
Butthereisasecond,BIGGERproblem…
Oneofthemostusefulapplicationsofthecircleof5thsislookingattherelationshipbetweenkeys.
Ifyou’reinthekeyofCmajor,it’sveryeasytochangetothekeyofGmajor,ortothekeyofFmajor,becausethereisonlyonenotedifferent.Wealsoknowthatit’sdifficulttochangetoakeyontheoppositesideofthecircle,likeF#major,becausealmostallofthenotesaredifferent.
Minorchordsworkinthesameway:youcanchangefromCminortoGminoreasilybecausethereisonlyonenewnote,butitwouldbedifficulttochangefromCminortoF#minorbecausealmostallofthenotesaredifferent.
Butwhatifyouwanttochangefromamajorkeytoaminorkey?
Thisisthebiggerproblem:ifwebegintheMinorcircleof5thswithCminor,thereisnowaytoseetherelationshipbetweenmajorandminorkeys.
Transitionsbetweenmajorandminorkeyshappenfrequentlyinmusic.
Tosolvethisproblem,weneedadifferentsetup.Weneedtostarttheminorpartofthecircleof5thsonadifferentnote.
Sohere’showwesolvethisproblem:
We’regoingtomakeacircleof5thsthatalsoappliestominorkeys.Thiscirclewillhaveasecondringofnotesontheinsidededicatedtominorkeys.
Atthetop,underneathC,we’regoingtoputAminor(Am).
Here’swhywechooseAminor:
ThenotesforCmajorare:
C•D•E•F•G•A•B•C
ThenotesforAminorare:
A•B•C•D•E•F•G•A
Noticethatthenotesarethesame,justinadifferentorder.
NOTE:Whentwodifferentkeyshavethesamenotes,theyarecalledrelativekeys.AminoristherelativeminorofCmajor.YoucouldalsosaythatCmajoristherelativemajorofAminor.
Let’smoveoneletterclockwiseonourcircleof5thsforminorkeys.
ThisnotewillbeEminor(Em).EminoristherelativeminorofGmajorbecausetheysharethesamenotes(thoughthenotesareinadifferentorder).
Noticehowonourmajorcircleof5ths,AandEarenexttoeachother.Thesameistrueofourminorcircleoffifths,AmandEmarenexttoeachother.
Wecancontinuethispatternaroundthecircle.
NextweaddBminor,whichcorrespondstoDmajor.BminoristherelativeminorofDmajor.
Forthenextletter,youcouldcalleditDbminor.Itwouldtechnicallybecorrect,butcallingitDbminoractuallymakesyourlifemoredifficult.
Rememberhowforthemajorcircleof5thstherightsideofthecircleisallsharps,andtheleftsideisallflats?
Lifewillbeeasieriftheminorcircleof5thsfollowsthesameconvention.
We’regoingtocallthatnoteC#minorinstead,tomakeitsharp.
We’lldothisforthenextcouplenotes:
ThenotethatcorrespondstoBmajorisG#minor.
ThenotethatcorrespondtoF#majorisD#minor.
Then,becausewe’reontheleftsideofthecirclenow,we’llswitchtoflats.
ThenotethatcorrespondstoDbmajorisBbminor.
ThenotethatcorrespondstoAbmajorisFminor.
ThenotethatcorrespondstoEbmajorisCminor.
ThenotethatcorrespondstoDbmajorisGminor.
ThenotethatcorrespondstoFmajorisDminor.
Nowwehaveourcompletecircleof5ths,withbothmajorandminorkeys:
Nowlet’sreturntotheissueoffindingsharpsandflatsforkeys.
RecallthatCmajor,atthetop,haszerosharpsorflats.
BecauseAminoristherelativekeyofCmajor,theysharethesamenotes,andasaresultAminorhaszerosharpsorflats.
Ifwegooneletterclockwise,wehaveGmajorandEminor.
Gmajorhadonesharp:F#.
BecauseEminorsharesallofitsnoteswithGmajor,weknowthatEminorhasonesharp:F#.
Dmajorhadtwosharps:F#andC#.Bminor,therelativekeytoD,alsohastwosharps:F#andC#.
Flatsalsoworkthesameforminorkeysastheydidformajorkeys:
ThekeyofFmajorhasasingleflat:Bb.BecauseDminoristherelativekeyofFmajor,ittoohasasingleflat:Bb.
Thisistrueforallofthemajor/minornotepairsontheadvancedcircleof5ths.
Sowe’vesolvedthefirstproblem:sharpsandflatsareeasytofindwiththisarrangementofnotesonthecircleof5ths.
Let’slookatthesecondproblem:usingthecircleof5thsasamapofkeys.
WealreadyknowthatatransitionfromCmajortoGmajoriseasy,becauseonlyonenoteisdifferent.
SinceEminorhasallofthesamenotesasGmajor,weknowthatCmajorandEminoronlyhaveonenotedifferent.
ThatmeansitwillbeeasytotransitionfromthekeyofCmajortothekeyofEminor.
WealsoknowitwouldbedifficulttotransitionfromCmajortoD#minorbecausealmostallofthenotesaredifferent.
NowIwanttotalkaboutonelastproblem…whatifyouwanttotransitionfromCmajortoAminor(orbetweenanyotherrelativekeypair).
CmajorandAminorshareallofthesamenotes,sohowcanyouswitchbetweenthem?
Let’ssayyou’rejamminginCmajor.YourtonicnoteisC,sothefirstnoteyouplayisaC.ThenyoupicksomeothernotesfromtheCmajorscale.Afterthesenotes,youplaythetonicnoteagain:C.
Comingbacktothisnoteiscalledresolving.YouresolveonC.
TotransitionfromCtoAm,youwouldsetupthemusictoresolveonAinsteadofonC,effectivelyshiftingthetonicnote.
SoyouplayaCnote,thenyouplaysomenotesoftheCmajorscale(thesamenotesthatmakeuptheAminorscale).InsteadofresolvingontheCnoteyouplayedfirst,youendonanAnote.
Thislastpartprobablysoundsprettyconfusing.IsurefounditconfusingwhenIfirstlearnedit.(SUPERconfusing.)
Here’stheexercisesIdesignedformyselfthatmadeitclick:
PlayaCmajorscaleonyourguitar.Usethosenotestojamaround.MakeuprandomstuffusingonlythenotesfromyourCmajorscale(recallthatusingnotesonlyfromaparticularscaleiscalleddiatonic).AlwaysbeginwithaCnote,andendonaCnote.Itdoesn’tneedtobethesameCnote,butinthebeginningIfounditeasiertoalwaysendonthesameCnote.
NOTE:Inthebeginningitwillsoundgoodabout5%ofthetimeifyourexperienceisanythinglikeminewas.You’llhitgoodstringsofnotesonaccident,butmostofthetimeyou’llpickawrongor“sour”note.ThisispartofthelearningprocesssoDON’TWORRYABOUTIT.Eventuallyyou’llgetbetterandmostofyournoteswillsoundsweetinsteadofsour.
PlaybeginningandendingonaCnoteforalittlebit(itcouldbe10minutes,oracoupledays.It’salluptohowcomfortableyoufeelplayingthenotes).
MoveontothisnextpartwhenyouknowallofthenotesoftheCmajorscaleandcanplaythatonyourguitar.
Onceyoucandothat,startendingyourstringsofnotesonanAnoteinsteadofonaCnote.
Itwill(probably)soundawkwardatfirst,buteventuallyyou’llstarttoseewhichstringsof
notesresolvetoAwell.
Youcan(andshould!)dothiswithalloftherelativenotepairsonthecircleof5ths.
Youshouldalsopracticingswitchingbetweenkeysthataren’trelative.
Forexample,youcouldjaminthekeyofGmajor.MakeupstringsofnotesusingonlynotesfromyourGmajorscale.
Then,whenyoufeelready,switchtousingonlynotesfromyourDmajorscale.
Whenyoudothis,beginonaGnote,playsomenotesintheGmajorscale,thenresolveonaDnote.Fromthenon,playnotesintheDmajorscale.
Trythiswithkeysthatarefartheraparttoo.
JamforabitinGmajor,thenswitchtoAmajor.Morenotesarenew,soyouhavetofindcleaverwaystointroducethosenewnotesoryourmusicwillsoundawkward.
Inthebeginning,ITWILLSOUNDAWKWARD.
Don’tworryaboutit.
Justkeepjammingandeventuallyyou’llseeandunderstandtherelationships.Practiceandexperienceareexceptionallyimportantinmusic.
NOTE:Above,inthissection,Isuggestyoudoalloftheseexercisesdiatonically.Isuggestthisbecause,inthebeginning,thinkingaboutnotesoutsideofascaleistoomuch.Yourfocusisn’tonhowtomakechromaticalterationssoundgood,it’sonhowyoutransitionbetweenkeys.Oncekeytransitionsareeasyforyou,youabsolutelyshouldintroducechromaticalterations.Don’tworryaboutthatyet.Focusonthecircleof5thsandwhateverelseyouarelearningrightnow.
NotesofMinorScales(withrelativekeys)
(AeolianModePattern:W•H•W•W•H•W•W)
AMinor(Relativekey:CMajor)
Notes:A•B•C•D•E•F•G
EMinor(Relativekey:GMajor)
Notes:E•F#•G•A•B•C•D
BMinor(Relativekey:DMajor)
Notes:B•C#•D•E•F#•G•A
F#Minor(Relativekey:AMajor)
Notes:F#•G#•A•B•C#•D•E
C#Minor(Relativekey:EMajor)
Notes:C#•D#•E•F#•G#•A•B
G#Minor(Relativekey:BMajor)
Notes:G#•A#•B•C#•D#•E•F#
D#Minor(Relativekey:F#Major)
Notes:D#•E#•F#•G#•A#•B•C#
BbMinor(Relativekey:DbMajor)
Notes:Bb•C•Db•Eb•F•Gb•Ab
FMinor(Relativekey:AbMajor)
Notes:F•G•Ab•Bb•C•Db•Eb
CMinor(Relativekey:EbMajor)
Notes:C•D•Eb•F•G•Ab•Bb
GMinor(Relativekey:BbMajor)
Notes:G•A•Bb•C•D•Eb•F
DMinor(Relativekey:FMajor)
Notes:D•E•F•G•A•Bb•C
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ConclusionSoyou’vefinishedthisbookandyou’rewondering…whatdoIdonext?
Ifyou’veenjoyedthebook,IwouldappreciateitifyouleftmeapositivereviewonAmazon.Itmeansalottometohearaboutyourexperiencelearningmusictheoryfrommybook.
Youcanleaveareviewquicklybyclickinghere.
Inregardstomusic…
…Practice.
Practicetheinformationpresentedinthisbookuntilyouknowitbackwardandforward.Playwiththenotesonpaper.Lookforpatterns.Playyourguitarandlookforpatterns.
Musicispatterns.It’sallabouttherelationshipsbetweennotes.Understandingthoserelationshipswellenoughthatyoucanmakequickdecisionswhileyou’replayingthatsoundgoodtakesaLOTofpractice.
Ifyouhavequestions,comments,suggestionsoranythingelse,shootmeanemail.
Feelfreetosendmeanemailaboutanything!I’mfriendly,Iswear.
Allthebest,
Scott
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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PBSV27Q
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010LP0TTK
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015424XUG
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R2AJH3M
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