Good Mnemonics for memorizing circle of fifths?

[Bob_Ross]

Here's the shortcut/trick I've always used to "read" key signatures. i.e., you know how many sharps or flats there are because they're all shown right there in the key signature...but rather than now polling & reverse-engineering your mental database of This Key Has This Many Accidentals, try this:

- For sharp keys, the key center is one half step higher than the last (right-most) sharp in the key signature.
E.g., you see four sharps in the key signature. You could either remember that the key of E has four sharps...or you could just look at that last sharp in the key signature and think "Oh, D#, so this tune is in the key of E."
- For flat keys, the key center is whatever the second-to-last flat in the key signature is.
E.g., you see four flats in the key signature. You could either remember that the key of Ab has four flats...or you could just look at that second-to-last flat in the key signature and think "Oh, Ab, so this tune is in the key of Ab."

Yeah, it feels a little like cheating.

 

[ArtechnikA]

Yeah, it feels a little like cheating.

Maybe so, but this I think I could remember...

 

[LeeNunn]

I like Bob's approach. I think most bass players know their fingerboards well enough to visualize the name of the note a fourth or fifth away.
Start with C (no sharps or flats).
For sharp keys, progress by a fourth down or a fifth up, and sharp the seventh of the new key. For example, visualize the C on the third fret of the A string. Down a fourth (or up a fifth) is G, which has one sharp: F#, which the 7th of the new key. Up a fifth to D, which adds a C#, which is the 7th of D. Down of fourth to A. Etc.
For flat keys, progress by a fifth down or a fourth up, and flat the fourth of the new key. Visualize the C on the third fret of the A string. Down a fifth to F, which has one flat: Bb, which the 4th of the new key. Up a fourth to Bb, which adds an Eb, which is the 4th of Bb. Etc.
After a while, you just recognize the key signature. This was easier for me than mnemonics.

 

[CereBassum]

Here is a GREAT SYSTEM: Take a look at the staff and see which notes are marked # or b!
-----------------------------------------------

Here is another way:

This is not a mnemonic which you should avoid if you actually want to learn how music works - it's way to remember and to begin to understand - you should strive to understand, so that you don't have to memorize, you just know.

Flat keys: As you move counter-clockwise around the circle of 5ths, each time you add a b sign, it goes to the perfect 4th of the key your're in so it's not a tritone if it was natural:

Key of F has one b - Bb, the perfect 4th of F.
Key of Bb , the perfect 4th of F, has 2 b's - Bb, (from F) and Eb, the perfect 4th of Bb.
etc etc - just keep adding a flat at the 4th- until you get to Gb.
​

---------------------------------------

Sharp keys: As you move clockwise around the circle of 5ths, each time you add a # sign, it goes to the Maj 7th of the key you're in, so that's it only a half step from the root instead of b7 if it was natural:

Key of G has one # - F#, the M7 of G.
Key of D , the perfect 5th of G, has 2 #'s - F#, (from G) and C#, the M7 of D.
etc etc - just keep adding #'s until you get to B, with 5 #'s.​

That's a system you can use.

But if you base practice sessions around the circle of 5ths - play through every major scale following the circle, every minor scale following the circle, and paying attention to the count of b's and #'s, you will not need a system or a mnemonic - you will just know it: You will see 3 b's and KNOW that it's Eb, etc.

 

[CereBassum]

Make the piano part of your daily practice.

 

[Lownote38]

I got a used Michelin and some white paint and painted all that stuff on the side so when I practice I just have my girlfriend roll it back and forth along the basement floor.. they do call it the circle of fifths so . .

 

[CereBassum]

he shapes seem like a nice way to learn, but I want to start disassociating the frets from the shapes and thinking about it in a way that leaves runs up and down the neck a lot more viable.

I take jazz lessons from a working pro. He is constantly drilling that into my head: Do not base your playing on patterns. Know the notes and know the neck: think in notes and intervals and know where to find them any place.

Right now I just work on knowing everything through the roots that start on the 8th fret, which includes higher positions for full octaves in G and C. I practice scale and modes with my eyes closed through the whole circle of 5ths on those frets, starting with OPEN POSITIONS, which are a huge help in breaking the habit of playing in patterns, because the fingerings are all different.