Bass Clef Circle Of Fifths

Explore all the major key signatures on the bass clef staff in this widget. Click on the buttons and keys with your mouse to interact with the widget. Or, navigate more quickly using your computer keyboard. Hear the sound in the lower register. You can also view a visual representation of circle of fifths combined with an interactive staff display. This allows you to hear what happens as well as where the sharps and flats go specifically for the F clef.

Here you can see the full set of 12 major keys (left-hand side) in relation to their intervals. On this wheel, each button correspond to a new key center. Simply click on a button and that key become selected. You will hear the major scale of that key played back as well as the key being displayed on the right hand side of the staff. Just inside the edge of the wheel, you can find the minor key related to each major key for reference. It is really simple to be able to visualize the relationships between keys without having to learn theory from scratch.

How to use this widget

You can also use your computer keyboard to move around the wheel. To go around the wheel, simply hit the Tab key which will take you from one key button up top to the next until you get to the control buttons underneath. Then, when a key button is selected, just hit Spacebar (or Enter) to choose it. This way, you don’t have to move your hand off the keyboard. You can hop quickly from key to key to compare them more easy.

Each time you move round the circle in a clockwise direction, you add an extra sharp to your key. If you turn the wheel anti-clockwise then you add flats instead. The staff area clearly shows where they is placed. You can see that the locations are not as you would expect if you have been learning solely from a treble clef. For instance, the initial sharp comes on the fourth line rather than the fifth.

Two buttons below the staff give the option of hearing the chosen key played two distinct ways. Pressing the play scale button will play up the major scale starting on the tonic note. You can listen to how each key signature sounds in your range in a lower register to help you internalize it. The play chord button plays the root, third, fifth, and octave together. This adds more harmonics around the scale to provide a fuller effect.

The audio output level of the chord and scale notes can be adjusted via the volume slider at the bottom. Adjust it to a comfortabley level before you start playing to avoid sudden loud sounds. This slider controls the volume of all audio from the widget. Set it once and forget about it if the default is too high or low for your surroundings.

If you’re not sure of the controls, there’s a little cheat-sheet that appears at the top of the page when you click on the help button. It explains the accidental ordering rules and also gives a summary of how to use the circle. The fullscreen button makes it full screen so the whole browser window is filled by the widget. That way you get a bit more space around the wheel and staff; handy if you prefer to concentrate on just playing the instrument, or maybe your screen isnt as big.

To explore further, try choosing a key with plenty of accidentals and notice the density of notes on the staff. Consider F sharp major, which has six sharps, compared to G major, which have just one. Hear how the chord sounds as opposed to the scale when played in each key. This can give you a feeling of security that is absent from the scale’s linear movement. Some keys may also sound darker or richer in this lower range.

Trace patterns on the wheel from one related key to another. Begin in C major which has no sharps or flats and step round the wheel adding one note at a time. You will notice that the addition of accidentals always follows the same sequence. As you travel around the circle clockwise, sharps is F, C, G, D, A, E and B. If traveling counterclockwise (flats), they occur in reverse. Seeing this visually may help you remember the general rules regarding key signatures. For this clef only, the exact location where each accidental should be written is shown clearly on the bass clef staff. Because it sits further down the staff than in the treble clef, these accidentals have an even greater importance if you’re studying to notate or read from a piece for instruments such as the left-hand piano part, bassoon, cello etc. Seeing how these concepts appear on the lines and spaces makes it clear how to turn abstract music theory into practical notation.

There is no sustain pedal option. There is no transpose control. That are all the options this widget has. It’s all about the key signature and how it simply sounds. This clarity makes for an uncluttered and direct experience. No need to fret over note decay or pitch shifting. Choose your key. View the staff. Listen to the outcome.

The first place to begin is with C major. This will give you the reference point without any accidentals. From here, move to G major which has one sharp. Keep going around the wheel until you’ve heard them all. You can also explore more quickly using the keyboard navigation. Use your keyboard navigation for faster exploration if you prefer. Enjoy finding out what every key sounds like in the bass register.