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If you don't stay in scale, the music will sound wrong!

Grade 4 - Scales

Grade 4 scales build fluency. Master key signatures, accidentals, and minor forms to move confidently through major and minor keys on your instrument or at the keyboard.

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Fascinating Fact:

Use the circle of fifths. Each step clockwise adds one sharp, anticlockwise adds one flat. Remember sharps with Father Christmas Gave Dad An Electric Blanket.

In Specialist Music Theory at Grade 4, you learn to recognise and write scales with accurate key signatures, accidentals, and intervals. You also compare major keys with their relative and parallel minors.

Key Terms

Key signature: The sharps or flats placed at the start of a stave that define the key.
Relative minor: The minor key that shares a key signature with a major key, found three semitones down.
Circle of fifths: A diagram that arranges keys by perfect fifths to show how sharps and flats accumulate.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do I work out a major key signature quickly?

Use the circle of fifths to count sharps or flats. For sharp keys, the last sharp is ti of the scale. For flat keys, the second to last flat names the key.

What are the three forms of the minor scale in theory?

Natural minor keeps the key signature only, harmonic minor raises the seventh, melodic minor raises sixth and seventh ascending and returns to natural minor when descending.

How can I practise scales efficiently for Grade 4?

Practise little and often with a metronome, say note names aloud, use varied rhythms, check fingerings, and link each scale to its key signature and relative minor.