Is there a good one that rolls through the entire circle of fifths in a single exercise? Is so, where? Thanks.
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Circle of fifths exercise?
- Thread starter Scottgun
- Start date
Groove Master
Commercial User
- Apr 22, 2011
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- Author of Groove 101, Slap 101 and Technique 101
You can practice everything with the cycle. I do my scales and arpeggios that way but one exercice you can do is to go down the major down to the fifth note (C to F ) in 8th's notes and land on a half-note (f) then start a descending F scale anywhere on the neck down to Bb and so on. I hope it makes senses written like this lol.
Surely you can make one up yourself. Just do a major arpeggio, then the same with a flat 7th and move up a fourth and (pow!) Bob's ya uncle. You're 1/12 of the way around.
thats how I learned the fingerboard. On the E string, start on C, play the major scale up and down. Then play F, then Bb, etc. (i.e go fourths not fifths) all starting on the E string. Dont use open strings for the exercise.
Then play the minor scale, then dominant. Then do the same thing on the A string. Then do arpeggios, then do it 1 3 2 4 etc. Then two octaves. Then do the same thing starting on the G string and going down and then up.
I'm sure there are other ways to learn the fingerboard, but man did that way ever work for me.
Then play the minor scale, then dominant. Then do the same thing on the A string. Then do arpeggios, then do it 1 3 2 4 etc. Then two octaves. Then do the same thing starting on the G string and going down and then up.
I'm sure there are other ways to learn the fingerboard, but man did that way ever work for me.
Diatonic triads (vii iii vi ii V I IV ) moving around the cycle
in all keys, moving around the cycle
when you get to IV, that is your new key center
C : Bm7b5 Em Am Dm G C F -> F is the new key
F : Em7b5 Am Dm Gm C F Bb -> Bb is the new key
Bb: Am7b5 Dm Gm Cm F Bb Eb -> Eb is teh ney key
etc
in all keys, moving around the cycle
when you get to IV, that is your new key center
C : Bm7b5 Em Am Dm G C F -> F is the new key
F : Em7b5 Am Dm Gm C F Bb -> Bb is the new key
Bb: Am7b5 Dm Gm Cm F Bb Eb -> Eb is teh ney key
etc
I've been doing something similar as suggested here, thanks. I guess I'm asking if there is something like an etude. Or something that really forces you to know the notes as opposed to just moving a shape around.
Groove Master
Commercial User
- Apr 22, 2011
- 1,808
- 1,291
- Disclosures
- Author of Groove 101, Slap 101 and Technique 101
Writing out the exercise with pencil and paper, in all 15 keys, will force you to learn the note names.
Another tip is to incorporate open strings as much as possible. This will force you to not just move a shape around.
What helps me is two things;
1) I keep a CoFs chart on my music stand. and I made a couple custom Bass Fret Board charts (custom for my 5 string) so I get a sense of what note to start the tonics on. and I can 'practice' away from my bass if need be.
2) Lately I have been running the Major scales 2 octaves, then the relative Minor scale of that key also ascending/decending as part of ONE exercise. so when I do the pattern, I try to say the note names under my breath and try to keep them in time (Beat machine or metro). This part is the most tricky, but I can 'feel' the results in a short time. Again, I have been practicing 'offline' a lot more due to workload and busy fam life.
I also watched a vid by Scott Devine whilst searching through some YT vids. He suggested learning the scale in three starting positions; from the first finger, the second finger (probably the most popular) and from the fourth finger. this was a bit of an eye opener cause I normally run the box from 2nd finger for major and from the first for minor (cause in real jam and band settings its easy to just hit the box and roll with things) It made scales a bit more fresh with different fingerings applied.
My area has an open Mic on Wednesday's and re-hatching the scales ax grind has made my life much easier, for sure!
1) I keep a CoFs chart on my music stand. and I made a couple custom Bass Fret Board charts (custom for my 5 string) so I get a sense of what note to start the tonics on. and I can 'practice' away from my bass if need be.
2) Lately I have been running the Major scales 2 octaves, then the relative Minor scale of that key also ascending/decending as part of ONE exercise. so when I do the pattern, I try to say the note names under my breath and try to keep them in time (Beat machine or metro). This part is the most tricky, but I can 'feel' the results in a short time. Again, I have been practicing 'offline' a lot more due to workload and busy fam life.
I also watched a vid by Scott Devine whilst searching through some YT vids. He suggested learning the scale in three starting positions; from the first finger, the second finger (probably the most popular) and from the fourth finger. this was a bit of an eye opener cause I normally run the box from 2nd finger for major and from the first for minor (cause in real jam and band settings its easy to just hit the box and roll with things) It made scales a bit more fresh with different fingerings applied.
My area has an open Mic on Wednesday's and re-hatching the scales ax grind has made my life much easier, for sure!
It's out of print, but can still be found
Cycles by David Baker
100's of exercises from very simple to complex that all roll through the cycle of 5ths.
Caveat: The book I have is in treble clef
It's a good exercise to do it yourself with anything you're currently practicing (scale, arpeggio, whatever...). It get tricky when you arrive to Gb and B major, but that's the point about the exercise. So worth doing to know your fingerboard inside out.
My knowledge of music theory SUCKS! I can read standard notation on bass and can play songs pretty well but, confound it, I’ve never understood the cycle of 5ths and can’t find a good demonstration on YouTube. Everybody’s talking, playing a little, talking, etc...I can’t follow that, lol!!
Just for fun, I’m studying an old 1957 electric bass instruction book that I’m only 1/2 way through. FYI- I think it might be one of the first, if not THE first book published for Electric Bass.
There are bass major and minor scales, arpeggios and chord progressions to practice that sound surprisingly cool when played in sequence.
I think the book is cycling through the circle of 5ths or something, I just don’t know.
For example this: Play an F major arpeggio, a G7 arpeggio followed by a C major arpeggio. Just that sequence strung together sounds like a song.
C minor, F minor, and G7 arpeggios played in sequence sound good, too - that’s one of he exercises. I’ll have to work on it some more but it seems this pattern could be expanded where you could go through all keys in this sequence.
Maybe you guys could point me in the right direction...I’d like to play all the arpeggiated chords in each key in sequence on my bass expanding on what’s described in my book. How do I do that?
BEADGCF, etc as shown below? Anybody know of a YouTube video (Without somebody blabbing) that demonstrated this? It kind of looks like you’d play two minor chords and a seventh chord, or two major chords and a seventh chord? I don’t know which chords are supposed to be the 7th ones And don’t know the sequence.
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In the system I came up in we practiced the cycle in 4th(or backwards if you will). The idea being that Western music typical moves in 4th more often than 5th.
Amen to ^^. 90% of what I play is using sharp keys, very seldom find myself in the flat keys.
Came over from Country rhythm guitar and what we played was all Major stuff.
Came over from Country rhythm guitar and what we played was all Major stuff.
I am assuming you know all of the major scales, and that you understand the concept of "intervals" such as perfect 5ths. If you don't, then stop and learn that first; it is a prerequisite for what I'm about to say. Continuing on:
To play your example in each key in sequence "around the circle of fifths" you move the whole pattern up a by a perfect fifth interval (7 frets) each time. Drop the octave as necessary, so you don't run out of room on the neck, and play on whichever string makes most sense in the moment.
perfect 5th above FMaj is CMaj
perfect 5th above G7 is D7
perfect 5th above CMaj is GMaj
So first you play FMaj, G7, CMaj
Then you play CMaj, D7, GMaj
And then you play ???
Okay, now you do the next one! Keep going, and eventually you will arrive back at your original FMaj, G7, CMaj progression, and that's why we call it a "circle."
Can you think of any famous songs that use this type of chord progression?
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Thank you for the explanation and taking the time to type it. I understand the concept of 5ths and them being 7 frets apart but you lost me with this part:
So first you play FMaj, G7, CMaj
Then you play CMaj, D7, GMaj
And then you play ???
I’ll have to look at it again but I don’t understand the reasoning behind the above sequence or why there are seventh and major chords. How do you know which chord is supposed to be a 7th or a major?
So first you play FMaj, G7, CMaj
Then you play CMaj, D7, GMaj
And then you play ???
I’ll have to look at it again but I don’t understand the reasoning behind the above sequence or why there are seventh and major chords. How do you know which chord is supposed to be a 7th or a major?
Here you go:
FMaj - G7 - CMaj is a IV - V7 - I progression in C major.
To practice this along the cycle of 4ths, the next step is to take everything a 4th higher. So: (you can read this on the circle you showed in your earlier post, by moving anticlockwise)
- FMaj becomes BbMaj
- G7 becomes C7
- CMaj becomes FMaj
As a result, FMaj - G7 - CMaj becomes BbMaj - C7 - FMaj wich is the IV - V7 - I progression in FMaj. And so on...
When you continue this you get successively (I have highlighted the tonic (or I) chord)
- FMaj - G7 - CMaj (key signature = no flat or sharp)
- BbMaj - C7 - FMaj (key signature = 1 flat)
- EbMaj - F7 - BbMaj (key signature = 2 flats)
- AbMaj - Bb7 - EbMaj (key signature = 3 flats)
- DbMaj - Eb7 - AbMaj (key signature = 4 flats)
- GbMaj - Ab7 - DbMaj (key signature = 5 flats)
- CbMaj - Db7 - GbMaj (key signature = 6 flats)
wich is enharmically equivalent to BMaj - C#7 - F#Maj (key signature = 6 sharps)
- EMaj - F#7 - BMaj (key signature = 5 sharps)
- AMaj - B7 - EMaj (key signature = 4 sharps)
- DMaj - E7 - AMaj (key signature = 3 sharps)
- GMaj - A7 - DMaj (key signature = 2 sharps)
- CMaj - D7 - GMaj (key signature = 1 sharp)
- back to FMaj - G7 - CMaj (key signature = no flat or sharp)
The cycle of 4ths proceeds along the natural tendency of western functional harmony. If you want to progress along the cycle of 5ths (like in "Hey Joe", for example), just go backwards (i.e., clockwise in your diagram).
Practice the cycle of 4ths, study it, observe what patterns of regularity (like moving up one string) occur. Then this will become second nature to you.
You may use the cycle of 4ths to practice anything: your scales, arpeggios, chord progressions, etc... You will notice how smooth and logical the transitions sound. Have fun!
FMaj - G7 - CMaj is the IV - V7 - I progression in C major. The I and IV chord are major chords, the V7 is a dominant 7th chord.
The progression CMaj - D7 - GMaj is the IV - V7 - I progression in G major. The IV (CMaj) and I (GMaj) chords are major chords, whereas the V7 (D7) is a dominant 7th chord. To understand this, just play the progressions and listen.
Very likely, you would need to go back to basics and study how diatonic chords (triads and seventh chords) are build on the major scale. The best is to sit in front of a keyboard and to do this for C major (i.e. using only white keys). Once you understand the principle, and have the sound of it well anchored in your ears, you can proceed to study how it transposes to other key signatures.
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The old IV - V7 - I progression....ok, I missed that somewhere along the line. Nice! I’ll do it! I have noticed that arpeggios along with the scales they’re based on sound awesome when played in sequence on bass, guitar, or piano so, absolutely, I’ll have fun with this. That’s what I’m working on in my ancient bass book.
Thanks for your patience and replies, guys!
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