nacoran
6481 posts
Feb 09, 2013
7:13 AM
|
I found this neat clock online. I'm actually planning on building my own circle of fifths clock, but this one is pretty neat. It's even got a harmonica. What better way to learn the circle of fifths?
Cafe Press
This might also fall under the 'offline learning tools' category. :)
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
Last Edited by nacoran on Feb 09, 2013 7:18 AM
|
atty1chgo
603 posts
Feb 09, 2013
7:03 AM
|
I have a different one hanging in my office, will post a photo.
Last Edited by atty1chgo on Feb 09, 2013 7:04 AM
|
timeistight
1114 posts
Feb 09, 2013
8:29 AM
|
1st position is in the wrong place.
----------
Playing music... it's a privilege.
Kim Wilson
|
nacoran
6482 posts
Feb 09, 2013
9:06 AM
|
The position marking is a little vague. You can't have position markings on a circle of fifths until you decide what key harmonica you are holding. Assuming you've got a D harp in your hand, the markings would be right, but there is no indication that is a D harp.
With a little more work, someone could have created a rotating ring, like those old video game confirmation code wheels, that showed the position number relative to the key the hour hand is pointed to, or maybe just showed one position number, at the top (again, with a hidden wheel technique) that showed the position for where the minute hand was pointing relative to the key of the harp, where the hour hand was pointing. A really cool one could have a built in metronome too!
We are still having time stamp problems. Somehow atty1chgo posted before I created this thread!
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
|
Kingley
2303 posts
Feb 09, 2013
9:01 AM
|
" Assuming you've got a D harp in your hand, the markings would be right, but there is no indication that is a D harp."
Nate - Last time I looked 2nd position on a D harp was A. That clock says it's G according to the direction of the arrow. Now unless someone has changed the circle of fifths since I last looked, then the clock is wrong.
|
tmf714
1482 posts
Feb 09, 2013
9:16 AM
|
The clock is correct-if you start with the key of A and work counterclockwise,D is second position,G is third and so on-here is the chart-please become familiar with it =
|
tmf714
1483 posts
Feb 09, 2013
9:41 AM
|
I agree with the position placement inacurracy-but it's still a cool clock.
Last Edited by tmf714 on Feb 09, 2013 9:42 AM
|
Kingley
2305 posts
Feb 09, 2013
9:45 AM
|
Yes I agree it's a cool clock.
|
timeistight
1115 posts
Feb 09, 2013
9:50 AM
|
Oh I see: It's showing which harps play in "D" for the different positions. I was thinking the other way around: what keys are on a particular harp.
----------
Playing music... it's a privilege.
Kim Wilson
|
Johncn
36 posts
Feb 09, 2013
10:05 AM
|
Here is a merged version of the Circle of Fifths that tmf714 posted, and the two little cheat cards I've had in my harp case for years. I have annotated my understanding of how to use each of these in hopes it will help someone. I am not claiming any particularly deep knowledge of music theory! ;-) I also created a PDF version for printing.
|
Kingley
2306 posts
Feb 09, 2013
10:14 AM
|
Johncn - That's a cool diagram and demonstrates how the key chart on the clock in the OP should have been set. That's exactly what I meant by the clock being wrong. The key chart was/is the problem with the clock even though I know the actual face layout of the clock is correct. As always with these things the devil is in the detail.
In my opinion the mods (if they haven't already) should add a link to your PDF in the relevant section for downloading. As it's a great resource for beginners to have at their disposal.
Last Edited by Kingley on Feb 09, 2013 10:15 AM
|
nacoran
6488 posts
Feb 09, 2013
10:50 AM
|
Kingly, I took it to mean 'What harp would you grab if you wanted to play in the key of D in that position', someone calls the key of D, and you can play it in first on a D or in second on a G, which is really arbitrary. It needs to present it's information more clearly. It would probably just make more sense to have a big counter clockwise arrow going around it so when someone calls out the key you know to grab the harp one spot back. That's assuming you want to play in 'standard' second position.
Part of the problem is position sort of means two things. When I'm playing in third or fifth, I'm playing a minor scale, but it's of course possible, to play a major scale in 3rd or 5th, but we use the same word 'position' to describe it. We really need a shorthand (so that people actually use it) way to indicate which way we mean.
Seriously, one of those old code wheels could do a pretty good job (on a clock or not). You could have an outer ring for the 'Key the song is played in (one side for the majors, the other for the minors?)', a big middle window that tells you what harp to grab for basic 2nd position playing, and smaller windows that named all the modes for you and showed you the key signatures. I like the idea of a clock though, because it keeps it in your face until it's committed to memory. Maybe you could have one with two different colors for LED back-lighting, one for AM, the other for PM, and one would be majors, the other minors.
Personally, I use:
Baby Elephants And Donkeys Go (flats)
Baby Elephants And Donkeys Go (naturals)
Circle of Fifths
If you want to go clockwise, you could sing:
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle (then go flat)
Goes Down And Ends Battle
Hmm, now that I think about it, since they are moving around by the circle of fifths, you could probably use it for a chord progression too. Maybe the clock needs a chime!
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
|
Johncn
37 posts
Feb 09, 2013
12:08 PM
|
Thanks, Kingley. I hope it helps beginners. My wife got me a travel flask with the Circle of Fifths on it for Christmas. I should get a new case insert made by Slim to fit it for that "double duty" goodness. ;-)
PS - editing is working again for me.
Last Edited by Johncn on Feb 09, 2013 12:10 PM
|
