Skill levels use treble, bass, and alto clefs, with notes on just the spaces, to notes with double sharps and double flats up to two ledger lines above and below the staff. This is an essential drill for beginners, and very useful for advanced musicians learning new clefs. Circle of Fifths Learn how the Circle of Fifths is used to identify major and minor keys based on the number of increasing sharps and flats found in the key signature, the order that sharps and flats appear in key signatures, and the ability to play through the ascending or descending circle of fifths beginning with any note. Circle of fifths motion is used extensively in jazz, pop, and classical music chord progressions. Key Signatures Learn to identify major or minor keys based on the number of sharps or flats appearing in the key signature.
Key signatures appear just after the clef symbol on each line of music.
When you know the key signature and the notes of the corresponding major or minor scale, you know the notes the composer used as the raw materials for the melodies and harmonies in the piece. Skill levels let you select any combination of major or minor keys, using sharps or flats. The notes of these scales are the raw materials used to construct melodies and chords. Modes Learn the modal scales. Modes were commonly used by Renaissance composers and are used today in jazz, pop and some 20th century concert music.