Help with music theory

Hello Smelly Ogre,
Welcome to Guitar Noise,
What did they mean by "basic musical background"?
Hey I listened to the radio once, I guess I am good to go.
Seriously, from the kinds of questions you are asking, you are not ready for this class and would not get alot out of it.
That said,
the sharps and flats at the beggining of a piece of music (just after the time signature) tell you what key the music is to be played in. The first note has nothing to do with it.
Circle of fifths is a quick reference to key signatures and if used can tell you what notes are sharp or flat for any given key.
Here is an article that explains circle of fifths:
http://www.zentao.com/guitar/theory/circle.html

If you split a scale into two four-note parts (called 'tetrachords') you'll find they overlap:

F major = F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F
C major = C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
G major = G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

So the last four notes of F are identical to the first four notes of C... and the last four notes of C are the same as the first four notes of G.

Each of those scales is a fifth apart - the second half of a scale starts with the fifth note.

That makes for a special relationship between keys that are closely related by overlapping tetrachords. For example, you'll notice the chords from those scales are C-F-G, the I-IV-V in the 'middle' key.

If you arrange all the scales around a clockface - 12 keys in the 12 hour positions - you get the 'circle of fifths' which is useful for finding those I-IV-Vs, identifying key signatures, etc.


C
F G

Db B
F#

Read it clockwise to get the circle of 5ths. I.e. G is the 5th of C and so on.


C
F G

Db B
F#

Read it clockwise to get the circle of 5ths. I.e. G is the 5th of C and so on.

And starting from 'C' as you go clockwise, you add a sharp for each key, and as you go counter-clockwise, you add a flat...

C - no sharps/flats

Clockwise
------------
G - 1 sharp
D - 2 sharps
A - 3 sharps
E - 4 sharps
B - 5 sharps
F# - 6 sharps
C# - 7 sharps

Counter-clockwise
---------------------
F - 1 flat
Bb - 2 flats
Eb - 3 flats
Ab - 4 flats
Db - 5 flats
Gb - 6 flats
Cb - 7 flats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signature

Don't forget where to add the sharps and flats...

Clockwise
------------
G - 1 sharp
Add the sharp to the F - G A B C D E F# G

D - 2 sharps
F and C

A - 3 sharps
F, C, G

E - 4 sharps
F, C, G, D

B - 5 sharps
F, C, G, D, A

F# - 6 sharps
F, C, G, D, A, E
F# G# A# B C# D# E# F# or
F# G# A# B C# D# F F#

C# - 7 sharps
F, C, G, D, A, E, B
C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C# or
C# D# F F# G# A# C C#

It helps to remember "(F)at (C)harley (G)ets (D)runk (A)fter (E)very (B)eer

Counter-clockwise
---------------------

F - 1 flat
Add the flat to the B
F G A Bb C D E F

Bb - 2 flats
B and E
Bb C D Eb F G A

Eb - 3 flats
B, E, A
Eb F G Ab Bb C D

Ab - 4 flats
B, E, A, D
Ab Bb C Db Eb F G

Db - 5 flats
B, E, A, D, G
Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C

Gb - 6 flats
B, E, A, D, G, C
Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F or
Gb Ab Bb B Db Eb F

Cb - 7 flats
B, E, A, D, G, C, F
Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb or
B Db Eb E Gb Ab Bb

It helps to remember : "(B)attle (E)nds (A)nd (D)own (G)oes (C)harley's (F)ather"

It also helps you remember knowing that the actual notes that are sharp or flat are 5 apart just like the key signatures.
If you take the F (11:00 position) on the circle and rotate it to lign up with the G key signature all of the notes that are sharp will lign up with thier respective key signatures ie F ligns up with the key of G, C ligns up with D ect..
Same thing with flats by ligning up Bb with the key of F and working counter clockwise Bb with key of F, Eb with key of Bb ect...
Almost like having a circle within a circle except you need a gap to lign up with C because there are no sharps or flats in the key if C

Thanks a bunch everyone, after a couple of hours of reading and writing some stuff down I finally got it. Turns out all my questions are linked together. I finally got caught up in class and I'm actually understanding what's going on.

And again thanks everyone!

Reading the Circle of Fifths counterclockwise will give you the Cycle of Fourths.