 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: bob gardner
Date: 2001-11-09 14:27
i have been going crazy trying to remember the order of all the sharps and flats and the order in which they are added to the scale.
i.e. first sharp is F second is C third is G fourth is D. etc. etc.
I have broken the code; at least for me and maybe it will help some of you.
If you start with F and skip C then the next letter of note is G. So we go up the abc's in order. So every other # goes F G A B and C D E. When we put this all togeather we get F C G D A E B.
If this helps let me know for b can work the same way but going down rather then up.
# go up.
b go down
peace
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: HAT
Date: 2001-11-09 14:35
Sharps:
Fat Cows Get Down Around Every Barn
David Hattner, NYC
www.northbranchrecords.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Sylvain
Date: 2001-11-09 15:05
Hi Bob,
You really sound like those scales are giving you trouble.
You only need to know the first note for each group.
For Sharps you have to add a 5th at each change:
F (g a b) C (d e f) G (a b c) D (e f g) A (b c d) E (f g a) B
For Flats it's up a 4th (or down a 5th):
B (c d) E (f g) A (b c) D (e f) G (a b) C (d e) F
-S
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: GBK
Date: 2001-11-09 16:41
Sharps:
First Chance, Go Down And Eat Beans (my students love that one)...GBK
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Micaela
Date: 2001-11-09 17:34
My music theory class made up another acronym but it's not exactly appropriate to post publicly. :D
No, really, for flats it's pretty easy to remember if you know this trick. If you know your order of flats (B, E, A, D, G, C, F) and play the scales in order (1 flat, 2 flats, 3 flats, etc.) you take whichever flat you added in the previous scale and that's the name of the next scale. For example, B flat has 2 flats, B flat and E flat. Since E flat is the new flat in this key, it is also the name of the next scale, the one with 3 flats. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this coherently but if you understand it, it really helps.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Emms
Date: 2001-11-09 20:40
Father Christmas Goes Down An Escalator Backwards.
Sharps forwards, flats backwards.
in sharp majors - the last sharp added is a semitone before it's name (G major, add F#, A major, add G#, but use the above order.)
In flat majors, these have one more flat than their name. ie, Bb major has Bb plus Eb. Ab Major has Bb, Eb, Ab and Db.
to remember scales, write out the above 2x.
F C G D A E B F C G D A E B.
Start at C for major scales. Move right, this is the order of sharp scales. Move left, this is the order of flat scales.
Start at A for minor scales. Move right for order of sharp scales, left for order of flat scales.
You have to remember where to add sharps or flats for the above though.
eg, to find the key sig. for F minor, start at A. Sharps go right, flats left. F minor must be a flat scale, as it isn't called F# minor, so go left. Count D-1, G-2, C-3, F-4. Therefore F has 4 flats!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Meri
Date: 2001-11-09 21:18
I think this is about rules to remember the order of sharps and flats, and not making new acroymns for them>
Sharps:
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
Flats:
Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father
Meri
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Emms
Date: 2001-11-09 21:21
I didn't make up a new acronym. This is the one I've always used
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Peter
Date: 2001-11-09 21:42
You could write an episode of "Get Smart" around all those "codes!"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Nick Conner
Date: 2001-11-09 23:26
Fuzzy Catipillars Get Diarrhea After Eating Bugs (No joke, this is what my band director taught my music theory class)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob T
Date: 2001-11-10 08:16
All you need is one acronym, then you can work it backwards.
I made this one up for my grade 5 theory exam 25 yrs ago. I've never forgotten it-
For flats :
Beans Eaten After Dark Generally Create Flatulence. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Any prizes ?
BobT
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2001-11-10 09:52
Never knew there was so much variety in these mnemonics!
Have been using these since heard at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in the early 1960's:
Sharps: funny cats go down alleys eating bugs.
Flats: big elephants always do gorey circus feats.
Ralph
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tim Raczek
Date: 2001-11-11 00:02
My, I really enjoyed reading all these acronyms.
I was never taught any of these; just came to know them eventually. After you play for a few years, and really play in these different keys, you won't have to use the acronyms but you will <B>know</B> what the sharps or flats should be if there are one, two, three... of them and you will <b>know</B> key you are in. The pattern will present itself.
It will come.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Marco
Date: 2001-11-11 06:24
OK, here are the easiest ways (i think) to remember it:
Sharps- remember F# then C#. from this you can derive the rest- the next is G# (one step above F). after that is D# (one step above C#). alternate between the two. therefore: FCGDEAB
Flats: remember Bb then Eb. follow the sharp rules except going down instead of up. therfore: BEADGCF.
An alternative way of remembering it is remember BEAD as a word, then just remember G-C-F as letters. BEAD-G-C-F. This is the order of flats, and the order of sharps is just that backwards.
Marco Downs
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: allencole
Date: 2001-11-11 09:51
This is the one that I learned in high school, and it's the best reversible phrase I've heard.
Sharps:(most recent sharp is note #7 of major scale, note #2 of relative minor)
Fat Cats Get Drunk After Eating Beans
Flats: (most recent flat is note #4 of major scale, note #6 of relative minor)
Beans, Eaten After Drinking, Get Cats Fat
I've been looking for years for a more politically correct mnemonic, but this one reverses itself more logically. Meri's comes tantalizingly close.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jason M
Date: 2001-11-12 10:51
This may help, no acronyms...
When working out a key/scale just think of Tones or Semi-tones that separate the notes, so..
T = Tone
S= Semi-tone
Each T or S represents the 'tonal gap' between each note, using this method eliminates any confusing outcomes of notes in some scales, it becomes easier, especially for the beginner to understand why E remains E and not F (in the F major scale for example) in the sharpen the 7th method.
Major Scale = T T S T T T S
eg: F G A Bb C D E F
Relative Minor = T S T T S T T
eg: D E F G A Bb C D
This helps when working within Melodic minor and and Harmonic minor scales, just work out the Major and follow the rules of flats and sharps for the Melodic/Harmonic Minors. I find this is great when improvising on stage, you can do it in your head.
J
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob Arney
Date: 2001-11-13 02:05
Jason M concludes: "you can do it in your head."
As "Lonesome George" Goebel
used to say, "Shure you Can."
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jessica
Date: 2001-11-14 03:58
wow, I wish I had acronyms when I was learning the order of sharps... I just remembered that it was the opposite of flats (for some reason I never had trouble with the order of flats)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
