I need a mnemonic for the circle of fifths (FCGDAEB)

Anybody have a great mnemonic (or want to create one) for the circle of 5ths (mostly F through B). Bonus points if you've somehow worked in the Minors!

The best we've come up with at my house is:

"Father, Can God Dump An Empty Bucket?"

It leaves something to be desired.

What'cha got?

Here's a few.

My personal favourite is: Faulty Condoms Give Doreen An Easy Baby

Yes, the order the chords normally progress is very important.

here goes:

"Food Court Grub Demands Appropriate Eating Behavior"

keep uke'in',

ubulele said:

Backwards (the order of flats and also the direction that chords normally progress) it's BEAD-GCF. How difficult is that to remember?

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Well, the reason for a mnemonic is to make something easier to remember. Yes, the BEAD is a type of mnemonic, but the last three are not.
I think I'd like a better mnemonic than these.
Big Elephants And Dogs Get Concert Funding? --Nah.

ubulele said:

Backwards (the order of flats and also the direction that chords normally progress) it's BEAD-GCF. How difficult is that to remember?

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You'd be surprised how hard it is for me to remember stuff

Futurethink said:

Well, the reason for a mnemonic is to make something easier to remember. Yes, the BEAD is a type of mnemonic, but the last three are not.
I think I'd like a better mnemonic than these.
Big Elephants And Dogs Get Concert Funding? --Nah.

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Yeah, those ones at that link are doozies. I'd be better off just memorizing the letters!

....and how many years did it take for you to learn all of the above!

The OP wants a mnemonic.........&, she is fairly new to playing, let's try & help with her present needs.

EDIT: ubulele has removed his complicated posting, to which the above refers.

IMO, the mnemonics that I can most easily remember are the ones that I came up with for myself. When I've tried to use someone else's, that turns out to be just one more thing that I need to memorize.

I don't have one to share with you for the circle of fifths, though.

How about
Flirty Cute Girls Dart Around Every Boy
or
Funny Cats Give Dogs An Energy Boost
or
Fleas Can Give Dogs An Easy Bite

Fugedaboudit

I'm more of a visual learner I think so the mnemonics don't help me that much. I try to visualize the circle or visualize a piano chord to see out what the fifth of a root is. You could also get some stickers like these and spread them around judiciously: http://www.cafepress.com/+circle-of-fifths+stickers

Fat Cats Gobble Ducks And Eat Birds, or reversed: BEAD Greatest Common Factor

Once I learned to play bass, the circle was easy, as long as you know where you are on the fretboard. Easier still because bass players rarely chord, and mostly deal with arpeggios. Eaiser still because its tuned completely in 4ths, which means the note that you're on is the 4th of the note on the same fret, 1 string up, or two frets down and 1 string down. OR, the 5th of the note that you're on is exactly 1 string down, or 1 string up & 2 frets up. It now becomes a visualized pattern which remains in any key for the most part.

I taught this to an ukulele player who immediately saw the patterns on the first two strings, and the top two strings. Opened up some different things for him that day.

And if anyone can figure out what I just wrote, you're a better man than I.

Joyful Uke said:

IMO, the mnemonics that I can most easily remember are the ones that I came up with for myself. When I've tried to use someone else's, that turns out to be just one more thing that I need to memorize.

I don't have one to share with you for the circle of fifths, though.

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To me that's the point of mnemonics, you make them up yourself and you're more likely to remember them. That's not to say that going with ones created by others aren't useful, it's just you are more likely to remember the ones you've created yourself.

Because we frequently go both ways around the circle of 5ths (or 4th if anticlockwise) it's good to have a mnemonic that can be reversed.
I use this one with my students:

Clockwise it goes:
Father Christmas Got Dad An Electric Blanket

and anti-clockwise it goes:
Blanket Exploded And Dad Got Cold Feet.

ubulele said:

Hey, you don't want to know? Fine, it's gone.

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hey ubulele, please don't stop sharing your knowledge. your explanation made sense to me.

Bill1 said:

I do it on my fingers. Start at the thumb: F (thumb 1st) G (index 2nd) A (middle 3rd) B (ring 4th) C on little finger (5th). Start at thumb: C D E G F G on little finger and so on.
For some fun you can claim that it is organic and a natural mathematical thing that you have five fingers and that there is a corresponding circle of musical fifths, also this helps recall and teach the method to others.

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This sounds ingenious...so ingenious that I don't get it Can you explain it again?

ramone said:

hey ubulele, please don't stop sharing your knowledge. your explanation made sense to me.

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Looks like I missed something :/

Lots of great mnemonics here though. Maybe ubulele was explaining that the Circle of 5ths makes sense and so a person could choose to understand it rather than memorize it. About 20 years ago, I knew some music theory and did *understand* it, but now I forget it all and prefer know only what's useful right now. Not enough real estate in my memory for more right now. And really, I just want to be able to know the key and easily figure the 4th & 5th.

JessicaM said:

. . . And really, I just want to be able to know the key and easily figure the 4th & 5th.

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If you know enough about music theory to know the importance of the circle of 5ths, then you probably already know your fretboard. If that's the case, let the fretboard tell you exactly where you are. I'm having my coffee, so I'll take a stab again:

Open strings - 4th string, g:
the 4th of G is C (one string up)
The 5th of G is D (one string up, two frets up)

Open strings - 2nd string, e:
The 4th of E is A (one string up)
The 5th of E is B (one string up, two frets up)

That is your pattern that will run across the 1st & 2nd strings, and 3rd & 4th strings.
Let's work it from your 1st and 3rd strings in the opposite direction (same basic pattern).
D- third string, second fret:
The 5th of D is A (one string down)
The 4th of D is G (one string down, two frets down, open G in this case)

B- first string, second fret:
The 5th of B is F# (one string down)
The 4th of B is E (one string down, two frets down, open E in this case)

Yes, this takes some thought, but like Jim mentioned, I too am a visual person.

You can, and should test this. Of course, the more you stray from open strings and 2nd fret (which covers 8 of 12), the more you need to know your fretboard. That said, you should easily figure out the patterns for G & A on the fourth string, C & D on the third string, E & F# and A & B.

One more for fun? Just because my friend plays in Bb, and another cannot:
Bb fourth string, third fret.
The 4th of Bb is Eb, one string up.
The 5th of Bb is F, one string up, two frets up.

BUT, you already knew that because Bb on the first string, first fret, the 4th is F, 1 string down.

I banged my head trying to remember the circle of 5ths because I thought I needed to know it. I know it better once I started playing more and letting the fretboard show me where it is.

Eventually, once you know the 4th & 5th of a certain note/chord, you'll learn that the 5th of one, is the 4th of the other. I know that sounds simple, and you probably already know, but if you think it while you play. . .
Ie: you know the 5th of G is D, and now you know the 4th of D is G.
You know the 5th of C is G, and now you know the 4th of G is C.

Hope this helps.