Hello everyone
Does anyone have any methods, ideas on the best way to remember scales....It's easy to remember the simple ones starting at grade one but my next theory test will be grade three and it's already getting harder to remember them all. I could work them all out long hand but this would take too long in the exam...
Thanks Mike

QUOTE (PlinkPlonkMan @ Mar 7 2005, 11:38 PM)

Hello everyone Does anyone have any methods, ideas on the best way to remember scales....It's easy to remember the simple ones starting at grade one but my next theory test will be grade three and it's already getting harder to remember them all. I could work them all out long hand but this would take too long in the exam... Thanks Mike

There is a much-used method for remembering the order the sharps and flats go in. Just remember these rather silly sentences. First:

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

The first letter of each word is the name of a sharp. When a key has one sharp the sharp is F. When it has 2 sharps the sharps are F and C... and so on.

Then for the flats it goes in reverse:

Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles's Father

So if there's one flat it will be B, 2 flats will be B and E... and so on.

Now, as for which scale goes with which sharps or flats... Have you heard of the cycle of fifths? Basically you start at C (no sharps or flats) and count up 5 notes (actually 7 semitones) and you get to...
G (one sharp) Count 5 more notes to...
D (two sharps) Count 5 more notes to...
A (3 sharps) and so on.

For keys with flats in them you go backwards, counting down 5 notes from C to...
F (one flat)
B-flat (2 flats)
E-flat (3 flats) and so on.

I hope this hasn't confused you terminally, and has helped a little. Or was this what you meant by "working them out long hand"?

QUOTE (PlinkPlonkMan @ Mar 7 2005, 11:38 PM)

Hello everyone Does anyone have any methods, ideas on the best way to remember scales....It's easy to remember the simple ones starting at grade one but my next theory test will be grade three and it's already getting harder to remember them all. I could work them all out long hand but this would take too long in the exam... Thanks Mike

The cirle of Fifths!!

Oops. Sorry...

I don't really have a technique, I just remeber them, my memory is quite good. Actually I kept forgetting F minor so I just said to myself there is Ab Bb and uh..... is it Eb...... cant remeber........but I kept going over it and now my hand just does it for me.

yeah i dont really have a technique either, i just learn them loads and it sticks in my brain!

It helps if you have a photographic memory, coz thats how I learnt mine.

I remember the patterns that the notes make - like the notes of B minor make an interesting pattern. Doesn't help much with scales on a flute (or any other instrument I imagine) cos you actually have to know the note name rather than see it as part of a pattern

QUOTE (PlinkPlonkMan @ Mar 7 2005, 11:38 PM)

Does anyone have any methods, ideas on the best way to remember scales

My method for remembering scales is to make the next note the one that will sound right. However, you should take comfort from the thought that the only musical contexts in which it is essential to remember scales are jazz and composition. In playing notated music, remembering scales is no help unless you can also recognise them in the part, and if you are playing the music of some 20th C composers you will meet lots of passages that are close to familiar scales but deviate unpredictably.

Hello
Thanks for all the replies....I think I'll just go and kill myself...
BFN Mike

QUOTE

It helps if you have a photographic memory, coz thats how I learnt mine.

Helps even more if you understand how the whole thing works....

QUOTE (sbhoa @ Mar 8 2005, 06:38 PM)

Helps even more if you understand how the whole thing works....

sorry, meant in addition to... not as a replacement

I use the same method as Fred & it's worked a treat in my theory exams so far!

Just by patterns... I put them into different fingering groups because I struggled with remembering the right fingering... I could probably not tell you the notes in the scale but I can play them all!! dunno if thats good or bad!!

leasalonga

i never thought of using those anogram sentence things to remember the sharps in scales. that genious who ever thought of that!!! did u make them up yourselves?

Hello
My teacher showed me a system of moving my fingers up the keys to find sharps and flats...basically circle of fifths stuff....it works and now i find it easier...Also studying for grade 3 theory and have discoverd majors minors augmenteds and diminished and perfect intervals...it's very interesting..
BFN Mike

My students find keys easy to work out by learning this for the order of sharps:

Father Christmas Gave Dad An Electric Blanket

To find the major key, the tonic is always a semitone above the last sharp in the sequence.

So F# & C# would be D major as D is a semitone above C#. F#, C#, G#, D#, A# would be B major because B is a semitone away from the last sharp A. To find the minor key just go down a minor 3rd from the major key - F# = Gmajor down 3 semitones = E minor.

Learn the order of flats: (the reverse of order of sharps) or

Blanket Explodes And Dad Gets Cold Feet!
The key note is always the last flat but one.

For example: Bb, Eb, Ab = Eb major, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb = Db major.
To find the minor key, go back a minor 3rd form the major, so Bb, Eb, Ab = Eb major, back 3 semitones = C minor.


The other way of learning to write scales is to follow the pattern of tones and semitones:
major scale - Tone Tone Semitone, Tone Tone Tone Semitone.
But the first way is probably easier as it gives you all the key signatures.

Good luck!!