Once your child has learned the “Chord Study” exercise in a few keys, he may want to do some experimenting, what I like to call “doodling.” That’s a good thing because it will develop his creative side while still following the form that was taught to him.
The form in music that was taught is based on the Circle of Fifths (think of it as the color wheel to an artist). It has a Sharps family, and a Flats family (warm and cool colors). In a color wheel, the colors’ order is that of a rainbow, not the alphabet.
When practicing “Chord Studies” in different keys, direct your child to play them in the order of the Circle of Fifths to help him see the relationships of the order.
Just as the color wheel uses Roy G. Biv as its mnemonic, the Circle of Fifths uses Father Christmas Gave Dad An Electric Blanket… or backward, BEAD Good Clean Fun.
It takes years to learn the Circle of Fifths backwards and inside out, but once it is learned and mastered, your child may then practice “Chord Studies” (and will have learned many other technical drills) in any order. For ease, most advanced amateur and professional pianists begin at C and travels alphabetically through the keys.
