AKA “Linear Circle of 5ths”

(Magic Wand is a much cooler name, don’t you think?)

My students take the annual theory exam offered by Texas Music Teachers Association. The information I describe in this podcast coincides with the concepts students need to know for the Level 5 and Level 6 theory exam.

One of the primary concepts students need to know for this test, and musicians need to be familiar with in general, is key signatures.

In this episode, we extend the original 7 keys (F C G D A E B) (previously discussed in Episode 013) to include all the major keys, from C♭ with 7 flats to C♯ with 7 sharps.

It all starts with a goofy sentence about a Fat Cat:

Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Bacon

This is the sentence used to start the whole process of drawing the Magic Wand; it will also be useful for remembering the order or sharps/flats. When drawing the Magic Wand on a scratch sheet of paper, students are instructed to draw a rectangle around these seven letters. (See step 2 on the Magic Wand free resource sheet.)

This box serves two purposes:

1. To remember which keys do not require a sharp or flat as part of their name.

Anything inside the box uses that letter only as the name of the key.

Any letters written outside the box and to the right, require a sharp as part of the name: F♯, C♯ (think “sharps go to the right” just like they do on the piano keys.)

Any letters written outside the box and to the left, require a flat as part of the name: B♭, E♭, A♭, etc. (think “flats go to the left” just like they do on the piano keys.)

2. To remember the order of sharps and flats as they occur in a key signature.

Order of Sharps (♯) starting with F and reading to the right: FCGDAEB

Order of Flats (♭) starting with B and reading to the left: BEADGCF

Use the Magic Wand to identify major key signatures:

Identifying Major keys and their corresponding sharps/flats is easy with the Magic Wand!

Notice the number of flats listed at the beginning of a piece or on a theory test question.
For example, two flats (♭) listed after a treble clef sign.
Look on your Magic Wand to find the number two. Be sure to look on the left portion of the Magic Wand because flats go the left.
The letter below the number two is B♭. This is the key of b♭ Major.
The order of flats will tell you that the key of B♭ Major uses B♭ and E♭.

What if there are six sharps (♯) listed listed as a theory test questions?
Look on your Magic Wand to find the number six. There are two number sixes on the Magic Wand, we want the one to the right of C because sharps go to the right.
The letter below that number six is F♯. This is the key of F♯ Major.
The order of sharps will tell you that the sharps in the key of F♯ Major are F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, and E♯.

Use the Magic Wand to create chord patterns:

You can use the Magic Wand to create your own music and chord patterns! Follow these steps to get started. (I apologize in advance for my primitive, hand-drawn graphics!) The steps correspond with the last five minutes of the podcast.