The Chuck Norris Easy Guide to

Scales, Keys, and

Intervals…..

Because Music Theory is cool, kids.

I sometimes have trouble figuring out key signatures. I can never remember how many sharps are in g sharp minor, and I can’t keep bombing my scales at All-Region if I want to keep my image….

What do I do? Is there some kind of pattern I can follow?

Why yes Chuck, There is!

Hi Chuck! My name is Pythagoras and I’m a 7th century BC mathematician and philosopher…..

Did you know that all music is based on mathematical ratios? Therefore, oftentimes, music follows patterns which can be graphed to help us understand how music works internally.

The Circle of Fifths!

Let’s get a closer look……..

Whoa.

In music theory, the circle of fifths (or cycle of fifths) is an imaginary geometrical space that depicts relationships among the 12 equal-tempered pitch classes comprising the familiar chromatic scale. The circle of fifths was first described by Johann David Heinichen, in his 1728 treatise Der Generalbass in der Composition.

Thank you Wikipedia…..

But I bet we can make this easier…. Let’s get started…..

Okay little Greek man… I drew a circle….now what?

Well… we need a starting place… When making a “circle of fifths” we always begin with the key signature which has no sharps and no flats….

Alright class… what is it……..?

C Major:

You got it!

C

“C” like in Chuck….cool….

So… we begin with “C” major. The key with no flats and no sharps. So let’s go ahead and write our C major scale.

D E F G A B C

Notice when we write our scales…we can only use each letter ONCE (except you may repeat the note the scale is built upon “tonic note”) You will never see a scale written like this……

F# G# A# B C# D# F F#

F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#

This is Better…..

So let’s look again at our C major scale…..

C D E F G A B CNow… let’s start on C and count to FIVE….

Okay 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

What did you get?

GGood Job Chuck! And guess what – that’s where we head next in our circle…

CG

But how do we know what’s in the key of G?

“Well you see Chuck, now we have to refer to something called ‘the order of sharps and flats’.”

The order of sharps is going to tell us which accidentals to add on the right side of the circle while the order of flats will tell us which ones to add on the left.”

Sharps

Flats

CG

Order of Sharps

FCGDAEB

Order of Flats

BEADGCF

Let’s take another look….notice anything odd?Order of Sharps: FCGDAEB

Order of Flats: BEADGCF

Yeah, wanna make somethin’ of it???!

cG

So back to our circle….

Now that we know our order of sharps…

Order of sharps: FCGDAEB

we can use it to determine our key signature. Since we have moved ONE rotation from our starting point of “C” major, we add ONE sharp to G, following the order.

Add F sharp (the first sharp in the order)

Now we can build our scale…

G A B C D E F# G“I’ll use my fists to build your scale.”

Now it’s just a simple matter of repetition…..

CG

We take our G major scale

G A B C D E F# G And we count up

five starting on G

(just like we did with our C major scale)

What do we get?

“D”

That’s right Chuck! You’re getting it. So let’s add D to our circle….

D

C GD

DEFGABC

ABCDEF#G

Order of Sharps:

FCGDAEB

“D” is two rotations away from our beginning point of C – therefore, we add the first TWO sharps from our order of sharps: F# and C#.

E F# G A B C# D

Then we count up 5 from “D”

D E F# G A B C# D

A Three points away from C =

Three sharps =

F#, C#, and G#

B C# D E F# G#A

Then we count up 5 from A…..

E4 rotation away from C = 4 sharps

F# G# A B C# D# E

“ Okay Pie-Man, maybe I’m starting to buy this Circle of Fifths stuff…. But you’re not fooling me completely… because I know that some scales have flats not sharps – what about that?! Yo’ Mamma.

“Hold on Chuck,

We’re getting there…”

Here’s a look at our completed circle. As you can see, the flat keys exist on the left side of the circle. When working on the left side of the circle, instead of counting up by 5, you count DOWN by 5.

Here’s our C scale:

C D E F G A B C

Start at the last C and

Count back by 5

CB

AG

F

Then…we reference our order of FLATS.

Order of Flats:

BEADGCF

Since we are one rotation away from C on the LEFT side…. We add one flat from our order … B flat!

G A Bb C D E F

Then, we count back five from F……

F, E, D, C, Bb

Yeah… who’s cool now Chuck?

Okay kids, so I’m Chuck Norris, and I think this Greek guy knows what he’s talking about. So now it’s time for you to practice this stuff with your teacher and learn how to make minor scales. Listen good…. Or you’ll have me to deal with….