- Hi. In this quick tip, we're
going to have a little quiz
about the circle of fifths.
Now if you haven't met the
circle of fifths as yet,
we have actually a free
film out on YouTube
that tells you all about it,
and it's a wonderful thing
because even though you look at that
and you think, "Oh my goodness,
"that looks terribly complicated."
Actually, it isn't that complicated
and it tells us everything
we need to know about keys,
which sharps, which flats you
need in any particular key.
It's a wonderful way of going about things
and it shows us how the whole
key system is organised.
So, if you don't know
about the circle of fifths,
have a look at the free film
on the circle of fifths first,
and then come back
and you can use the quiz to see what
your knowledge of the
circle of fifths is like.
If you know the circle of fifths
or you know your way around
keys and key signatures,
it'll just be a chance
to fine tune your skills.
So, here we are.
Here's a circle of fifths.
The keys in black are the major keys.
The keys in red, in the
brackets, are the minor keys.
And then, the blue letters
around the outside are telling us
what we're doing in
terms of key signatures.
So, here's question one.
Why is this called the circle of fifths?
Why is it called the circle of fifths?
I'll come back to the answers at the end.
Question two: why does
it contain three circles?
Question three: what is a relative key?
What is a relative key?
Question four: which
major key has five sharps?
Which major key has five sharps?
Question five: which
minor key has four flats?
Which minor key has four flats?
Question six: what's the difference
between a harmonic minor scale
and a melodic minor scale?
What's the difference between
a harmonic minor scale
and a melodic minor scale?
Question seven: can you name a minor scale
that might contain a double sharp?
A minor scale that
contains a double sharp.
Question eight: the new
sharp for any major key is
which degree of the scale?
The new sharp for any major key is
which degree of the scale?
Question nine: the new
flat for any major key
is which degree of the scale?
The new flat for any major key
is which degree of the scale?
And question ten, our last question:
What is the key signature
for A-flat minor?
What is the key signature
for A-flat minor?
Okay, now then, when you're ready,
come back to share your answers with me
and let's see how you got on out of ten.
Why is it called the circle of fifths?
Because basically it's all about fifths.
You start with C at the top,
you go up a fifth to G, up a fifth to D,
C, D, E, F, G,
or G, A, B, C, D.
Up a fifth to A, up a fifth to E,
up a fifth to B, and so on.
And on this side, we go down in fifths.
And then, all these other circles
that relate to this circle,
obviously all do the same thing.
So, this goes up in fifths,
this goes down in fifths,
this goes up in fifths,
this does down in fifths, and so on.
So, you can see why it's
called the circle of fifths.
Question two: why does
it contain three circles?
Well, the circle in black
there is telling you
about major keys.
The circle in red, with
the notes in brackets,
is telling you about minor keys.
And, the circle in blue is telling you
which sharps do you need for these keys
and which flats do you
need for these keys.
What is a relative key?
Well, here's an example.
E minor is the relative key of G major,
because E minor and G
major both share F-sharp
as a key signature.
So you can say that E minor's
the relative minor of G major,
or you can say G major is the
relative major of E minor.
And that's true for every
other pair that you see
between the black and the red.
Okay, which major key has five sharps?
And the answer is B major.
It's the sort of question you can sit
and sweat over for hours,
but if you've got the circle of fifths,
you're straight there.
The sharps are on the outer ring,
so, one, two, three, four, five.
The major key with five sharps is B major.
Which minor key has four flats?
Well, remember the minor keys are the red.
So, we're looking for a
minor key with four flats,
so let's count round
from the outer circle.
One, two, three, four,
and we find the minor key
with four flats is F minor.
Okay, question six.
What's the difference
between a harmonic minor
and a melodic minor scale?
Well, you can work out what
you need in a key signature
for a minor scale.
So, if you take G minor,
you're going to have B-flat
and E-flat in the key signature.
For a harmonic minor scale,
you're also going to raise the
seventh degree of the scale.
Not in the key signature but as you go.
So in the case of G minor,
the seventh degree of the scale is F
so you raise that and call it F-sharp.
In the case of a melodic minor scale,
you raise the sixth and the
seventh degree of the scale
going up the scale
and you just use the key
signature coming down the scale.
So in G minor, the sixth degree is E-flat,
so you'd make it E-natural going up.
The seventh degree is F so you'd
call that F-sharp going up,
but when you come down, F-natural,
E-flat reverting to the key signature.
Okay, what was question seven?
Name a minor scale that
would contain a double sharp.
Well that's a funny question, isn't it?
But when you get down to the bottom here,
you start to meet double sharps.
If I take G-sharp minor
and I look at the seventh
degree of G-sharp minor,
well the seventh degree of
G-sharp minor is F-sharp.
So if I have to raise the seventh degree,
it has to become F-double-sharp.
So you could've gone for
G-sharp minor as an example,
or you could've gone for D-sharp minor
because then when you
raise the seventh degree,
it's going to be C-double-sharp.
Or you could've gone for A-sharp minor.
So that's where the double sharps creep in
when you raise a seventh degree.
If the seventh degree is
already sharp, raise it,
it becomes a double sharp.
Okay, what's the next question?
Question eight: the new
sharp for any major key
is which degree of the scale?
It's always the seventh
degree of the scale.
The seventh degree of G
major is F so it's F-sharp.
The new flat for any major key
is which degree of the scale?
The fourth degree of the scale.
The fourth degree of F
major is B so it's B-flat.
And then, finally, question ten:
what is the key signature
for A-flat minor?
Well, here's A-flat minor.
Is it a key that you
generally know terribly well?
Most people don't so, it
can be a bit of a sweat,
but it's easy when you've
got the circle of fifths.
A-flat minor is right at the bottom here,
so what's the key
signature for A-flat minor?
And you even have it in the correct order.
B-flat, E-flat, A-flat,
D-flat, G-flat, C-flat, F-flat.
So, how did you get on with
the circle of fifths quiz?
If you got ten out of
ten, congratulations,
you've obviously got this rumbled.
If you got slightly less
than ten out of ten,
hopefully it's chance just
to revise your knowledge
of the circle of fifths.
And, if that was a total disaster for you,
have a look at the film
on the circle of fifths
because you'll probably
find it'll come in handy.
Good luck!
