Circle of 4th's ?

My guitar instructor has me doing closed major scales in a "circle of 4ths" exercise. First play a C scale, then F scale, then B-flat, E-flat, A-flat, D-flat, G-flat....etc. My question is, I count from C to F, thats 4. Then F to B-flat. Why not B? Because I'd like to be able to calculate this as I'm playing any scale so I don't have to keep looking at whats written down.

When you cycle around the circle of 4ths you move in steps between scale tones of the major scale so a fourth is 2 and one half steps up from the previous note. Start with C. Two and a half steps would be C-D - one step, D - E - one step, E - F - one half step (no E# to worry about). Now start at F. F - G - one step, G - A, one step A to Bb one half step. You cycle around the circle of 4ths in 2.5 step increments until you're back at C.

Hope that makes sense.

The circle of fourths is really only the circle of fifths backwards. So you need to learn the circle of fifths and you're ready to go.

This is how I learnt the circle of fifths (you'll also immediately recognise the pattern of chords your teacher gave you)

http://people.freenet.de/greybeard/CycleOfFifths.htm

Hope it helps.

The fourths he's talking about are the reverse of the circle of fifths, but I'll try to address why it's Bb instead of B.

You start with the C scale:

C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C

Then you move to the scale that starts on the fourth note of the C scale, which is F:

F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F

Now you want to do a scale that starts from the fourth note of the F scale... and that's Bb.

Make sense?

basically, your counting letter names, when you need to be counting in numbers up the major scale..

it makes sense to go, say a 6th and go..

B C D E F G..

and say G..

when consider B major

B C# D# E F# G# A B

you need to count up 6, in the scale, knowing the scale you will see 6 up is G# not G.