I am learning alto sax and do a weekly class with about 15 people in it. We have been given an excercise to work on, I don't understand it but know it is an important one.
There is a diagram. It is a circle, starting at the top with an arrow down with '4th' over it then continuing down to the right, C, F, Bflat,Eflat,Aflat,Dflat,Gflat. At the top again, going down left there is another arrow with '5th' over it and G,D,A,E,B,Fsharp.
Can someone tell me what this means? I want to use it in my practicing, understand there is a lot to learn from it but don't know how to start! I don't want to ask the teacher to explain it again, he's a nice guy but can get impatient and others in the class have more theory under their belts than me.

That's the Circle of Fifths - Does he want you to practice Chord Progressions?

The circle represents the most common progression of chords in music. Perhaps he wants you to learn the notes of each chord to be able to improvise perhaps a bar per chord? That would be a useful exercise anyway.

If you want to see the Circle of Fifths laid out in a really clear way and with a simple explanation, try and get hold of a copy of a book called "How to read music in 10 Lessons" by Terry Burrows, published by Carlton. It's not as basic as an idiot's guide, in fact I think it's really quite helpful. But it's less comprehensive that the AB theory books so although it's not detailed enough for anyone taking the AB theory exams, it might suit your situation.

Actually even for people taking the AB exams, I've sometimes found that it explains the same thing but in a slightly different way from the AB books, and they do seem to complement each other quite well. It works for me anyway!

For a diagram of the circle of fifths, click on this link, then click on 'C', and scroll down .

Car Expert

What a super web site, Car Expert. I particularly like the fact that they pronounce the words. I'd been thinking of starting a thread about whether to use Anglicised or Italian pronunciation (eg whether Vivace was pronounced Vivass or Viv-achay etc), now I don't need to

So thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it

Got it bookmarked as well. I am finding it very useful!

Car Expert

The circle of fifths/fourths has been used quite a lot in the jazz classes I've been to. In jazz it's most common to go around it in the 4ths direction. If you do that, starting at C and moving to F then Bb etc you'll notice that if you think of that note as the key, you're adding a flat (or subtracting a sharp) from the key signature with each move.

Jazz chord progressions often move in fourths, probably the most common progression is a ii, V7, I e.g Dm7, G7, Cmaj7 - the root notes are moving in fourths. Another place you'll find chords moving fourths is the bridge of Rhythm Changes where dominant 7th chords move around the cycle, 2 bars on each of 4 different chords - on alto it's usually B7x2, E7x2, A7x2, D7x2 resolving back to Gmaj for the A section.

If this doesn't make a lot of sense at the moment don't worry too much, I've heard it repeated so often (and I'm sure you will too) that it does sink in eventually.

Because the chords often move in 4ths it can be useful to practise patterns in 4ths, maybe start practising 1, 3, 5, 7 of each major chord, 1 beat per note so
C, E, G, B
F, A, C, E
Bb, D, F, A
etc

then maybe speed it up so you're playing quavers and come down the chord as well
C, E, G, B, C, B, E, G
F, A, C, E, F, E, C, A
etc

then flatten the 7th so you're practising the dominant 7ths, then the third as well so you're practising minor arpeggios. Getting to the point where you know the 1, 3, 5, 7 of any chord without having to think about it is really useful.

Thanks for the tip. I've looked up Terry Barrows book and the 10 easy lessons is for piano. It seems to be 21 lessons for general music reading. Is this the one you meant?


Thanks for the link. It is really useful.

Thanks, TSax. I don't understand all of what you said, but you have given me a lot I do grasp and can be getting on with.

It sounds as if that isn't the one, but if you click the link below, you'll see exactly which book it is, who sells it and how much!

How to Read Music in 10 Lessons by Terry Burrows

It has an accompanying CD (or should have, check it does if you get a 2nd hand copy), and it also has Tests and Answers. It's written in a very user-friendly way, with loads of explanatory diagrams. I find I can relate to the explanations, but having said that, the AB Guide to Music Theory Part 1 covers "Chord notation in jazz" as a separate sub-section so that might be more useful for your situation:

The AB Guide to Music Theory Part 1 by Eric Taylor

If you want to look at some other bookshops as well as the above, just put the ISBN number into Google:

How to Read Music: 1844425363

The AB Guide to Music Theory: 1854724460

To be honest I wouldn't like to be without either of them. I find that if I don't understand an explanation in one book, then the way the other book explains it helps it to fit into place.

Let me know if you have any problem with the above or want more info.

I just put my reply in the middle of your last post by accident - so in case you miss it, here it is again!

Thanks for the information. I've ordered both - one from Amazon, the AB guide from DVD.co.uk for only £3.99 p&p included! A website I found which is also useful is: http://juliewaters.com/co5.php
With all this I hope to get the circle of 5ths sorted by Christmas!