Week 4 — Studio · "The circle relay"

Course: MUS 156 Music Theory I · Kenosis College
Instructor: Professor Hemsworth
Unit: Learning Unit 4 of 16 (Week 4) · two sessions per week
Objectives: SLO 2 · SLO 7 (the spine: hear it → name it → write it) · SLO 8, first component (read a chart's key at a glance)
Studio 4 · 20 points · Studios group · In session, Week 4's second session · async make-up path below, full credit, submit by the end of Week 4
Format: the course's signature hands-on session — the room builds the circle of fifths out loud, races the signature clock, and names the keys of real tunes by ear and signature together. Paper wheels and card blanks provided; your own instrument is welcome.

Every content unit has a the second session studio. It's the week's payoff enacted: this week, the payoff is reading one key instead of five accidentals — D♭ chart, no panic.

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Part 1 — The Big Picture

Session 1 named the system: one ladder (W W H W W W H), a spelling law (every letter once), two fixed accidental orders, and a circle that generates all fifteen major keys. Today the system goes into your hands, ears, and mouth at performance speed. Every round runs ear-first — hear the home, then name the key, then write it — because that's the direction a gig hands it to you: the band is already playing; the chart just says what neighborhood you're in.

By the end of the session you'll have built your own key card: the one-page circle-and-orders map you'll keep in your case (or phone) for the entire course.

Part 2 — The Task

The guiding question: When a signature or a sounding home note reaches you, how fast can you turn it into a named key — and could another musician act on what you wrote?

No hypothesis to write today — your prediction instrument is your ear, and Round 1 warms it up before any naming happens.

Part 3 — Procedure (the five rounds)

You'll work on the studio sheet with your Week 1 paper keyboard beside you. Groups of 2–3 at the tables work well; the rounds also run fine solo. Instruments out — several rounds invite you to find home on your own strings or keys.

Round 1 — Ears only: same ladder, new front door (≈8 min).
Professor Hemsworth plays five one-octave ladders at the piano, each from a different starting note. Four are true major scales; one has a broken rung. For each, circle true ladder or broken rung on your sheet — and for the broken one, mark where it broke (early, middle, or near the top). No letter names allowed in this round; ears first, on purpose.

Round 2 — The circle relay (≈15 min).
The room builds the circle of fifths out loud, one stop per person, sharp side first: each player names the next key, its accidental count, and the one new accidental that just joined ("A major — three sharps — G♯ just joined"). Around to C♯ major, then back to C and down the flat side to C♭. Stumble and the table helps; the relay restarts a stop back, not at zero. While the relay runs, everyone fills the circle chart (Table 1). Then one silent lap: complete anything you missed.

Round 3 — Signature speed round (≈12 min).
Ten signature cards, flashed one at a time — each shows just the accidentals, in order. Write the major key in Table 2. Ten seconds a card in the first lap; swap sheets with a neighbor and check during the reveal lap. The two tricks from session 1 (last sharp + half step; next-to-last flat) are legal and encouraged — that's what they're for.

Round 4 — Name the key of the tune we just played (≈12 min).
Four out-of-copyright tunes, played at the piano. For each: listen; hum the note that feels like home when the tune breathes; then Professor Hemsworth shows the tune's signature card, and you write the key name and its full signature in Table 3. Ear finds home; signature confirms the name. That double-check — sound plus page agreeing — is the whole skill.

For reference (and for the make-up path), the four tunes, shown and described:

KEY: D major    METER: free    CLEF: treble
| D5/q C#5/q B4/q A4/q G4/q F#4/q E4/q D4/q |

Joy to the World opens with the entire D major scale falling one octave, D5 down to D4 — two sharps at work, F♯ and C♯.

KEY: G major    METER: 3/4    CLEF: treble
| D4/q | G4/h B4/e G4/e | B4/h A4/q | G4/h E4/q | D4/h. |

Amazing Grace (rhythm lightly simplified): a pickup D4, then the tune leans on G4 — home — rising through B4 and settling back down toward D4. One sharp in the signature: F♯, even though this opening phrase never touches it.

KEY: F major    METER: 2/4    CLEF: treble
| F4/q F4/q | C5/q C5/q | D5/q D5/q | C5/h |

Ah! vous dirai-je, maman (the Twinkle tune) in F major: home stated twice, a leap up to C5, a step to D5, and back — the signature's single flat, B♭, waiting further into the tune.

KEY: Bb major    METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| Bb4/q D5/q Eb5/q | F5/w |

When the Saints Go Marching In (opening call, rhythm simplified): three pickup notes climbing B♭4–D5–E♭5 into a long F5 — that's ^1, ^3, ^4 landing on ^5 in B♭ major, two flats.

Round 5 — Build your key card (≈15 min).
On the card blank, in your own hand (drawing it is how it sticks):

1. The circle of fifths — C at the top, sharp arm down one side (C G D A E B F♯ C♯), flat arm down the other (C F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭), each stop labeled with its accidental count.
2. Both orders, written out: sharps F C G D A E B · flats B E A D G C F, with an arrow showing one is the other reversed.
3. The three enharmonic key pairs where the arms overlap: B/C♭ · F♯/G♭ · C♯/D♭, labeled "same sound, different key."
4. The recipe across the top: W W H W W W H, half steps marked between ^3–^4 and ^7–^8.
5. The solfège ladder with degree numbers: do re mi fa sol la ti do over ^1–^7–^8.
6. Your own home key: the key you play or sing in most, spelled out in full — all eight notes — with its signature. This card is yours; put your music on it.

Fallback (no piano hearing needed): if you can't hear the piano well from your seat, or you're doing the make-up path, every round works with a free keyboard app or your own instrument — the make-up section below lists exactly what to play yourself.

Part 4 — The Scaffold (complete during the rounds)

Table 1 captures Round 2 — the full circle, one row per stop.

Stop (sharp side)	Count	New accidental		Stop (flat side)	Count	New accidental
C	______	______		F	______	______
G	______	______		B♭	______	______
D	______	______		E♭	______	______
A	______	______		A♭	______	______
E	______	______		D♭	______	______
B	______	______		G♭	______	______
F♯	______	______		C♭	______	______
C♯	______	______

Table 2 captures Round 3 — one key name per flashed signature.

Card	What it shows	Your key
1	______	______
2	______	______
3	______	______
4	______	______
5	______	______
6	______	______
7	______	______
8	______	______
9	______	______
10	______	______

Table 3 captures Round 4 — the tune, the key, the signature.

Tune	Key	Full signature (count + accidentals in order)
1	______	______
2	______	______
3	______	______
4	______	______

Part 5 — Analysis Questions (short answers on the sheet, ≈5 min)

1. In Round 1 your ear caught a broken rung with no vocabulary at all. Which is that — hearing or theory? One sentence on what this course would say.
2. In the relay, what single move generates the next stop on the circle, and what single thing changes in the signature when you take it?
3. A bandmate texts you: "chart's in five flats." Write back the key and all five flats in order — and say which trick you used.
4. Round 4 asked your ear to find home before the signature confirmed it. Which came easier today — hearing home or naming it? One sentence on why.
5. Look at your key card. What's one thing you'd add or change to make it more useful to you — and go ahead and do it.

Part 6 — AI-Critique Moment (≈4 min, phones out — or on the projector if the room prefers)

Ask your chatbot two things from today's work: "Spell the C♭ major scale" and "Is C♯ major the same key as D♭ major? One sentence." Judge both replies against your key card. The classic failures to hunt: a misspelled scale (a doubled letter, a skipped letter, or your C♭ "simplified" to B major), and the enharmonic collapse ("yes, same key"). Write 2–3 sentences on your sheet: what it got right, and at least one thing you corrected or verified. The habit all term: the tool drafts, you judge.

Part 7 — What to Submit

Hand in before you leave: the studio sheet (Round 1 circles + Tables 1–3 + analysis answers + AI-critique sentences) and show your completed key card to Professor Hemsworth for the card check — the card itself stays with you; it's equipment now. 20 points, graded on the rubric below.

Async make-up path — full credit, submit by the end of Week 4. Life happens; missing the studio costs you nothing but the room. Do the same tasks alone: (1) for Round 1, play the five printed ladders below on a keyboard app or your instrument and mark true/broken by ear; (2) complete Table 1 by building the circle yourself, saying each stop out loud as you write it; (3) for Round 3, use the printed card list below and time yourself — ten seconds each; (4) for Round 4, play the four notated tune openings above yourself, hum home, then name the key and signature; (5) build the full key card; (6) do the AI-critique step. Submit: phone photos of your completed sheet and card, plus a short recording (a minute is plenty — voice memo or video) of you singing one major scale on solfège and then saying, out loud, the full signature of the key you sang it in. Same rubric, same 20 points, no penalty.

Make-up lists: Round 1 ladders — (1) the C major scale from C4; (2) the G major scale from G3; (3) the E♭ major scale from E♭4; (4) the A major scale from A3; (5) the D major ladder from D4 but play C natural instead of C♯ at the seventh rung — that's the broken one. Round 3 cards — the ten signatures in the instructor key below, in any order you like.

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Instructor key — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

Round 1 ladders (play deliberately; repeat each once):

#	Play	Key	Note
1	C major scale from C4	true ladder	the reference lap
2	G major scale from G3	true ladder	same tune, lower front door — say nothing, let them hear it
3	E♭ major scale from E♭4	true ladder	flat-side color, still the same ladder
4	A major scale from A3	true ladder	three sharps doing their job invisibly
5	D major ladder from D4 with C natural at rung 7 (should be C♯)	broken rung — near the top	the room will flinch at ^7; praise the flinch, then name it: the recipe demands a half step at 7–8, and C natural leaves a whole step

Round 2 — Table 1 key (the full circle):

Sharp side	Count	New		Flat side	Count	New
C	0	—		F	1 flat	B♭
G	1 sharp	F♯		B♭	2 flats	E♭
D	2 sharps	C♯		E♭	3 flats	A♭
A	3 sharps	G♯		A♭	4 flats	D♭
E	4 sharps	D♯		D♭	5 flats	G♭
B	5 sharps	A♯		G♭	6 flats	C♭
F♯	6 sharps	E♯		C♭	7 flats	F♭
C♯	7 sharps	B♯

Round 3 cards and vetted answers (flash in this order):

Card	Shows	Key
1	1 sharp: F♯	G major
2	2 flats: B♭ E♭	B♭ major
3	3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯	A major
4	no sharps or flats	C major
5	4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭	A♭ major
6	5 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯	B major
7	1 flat: B♭	F major (the flat side's learned exception — no next-to-last to read)
8	6 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭	G♭ major
9	7 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯	C♯ major
10	5 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭	D♭ major — say the payoff line out loud when you reveal it: one key, not five warnings

Round 4 tunes and vetted answers (play order as notated above):

Tune	Key	Signature
Joy to the World (opening descent)	D major	2 sharps: F♯ C♯
Amazing Grace	G major	1 sharp: F♯
Ah! vous dirai-je, maman	F major	1 flat: B♭
When the Saints Go Marching In	B♭ major	2 flats: B♭ E♭

All four are out of copyright (traditional or pre-1930 publications) per the course repertoire registry. Expect some students to hum the last-sounding note instead of home on Saints (the opening parks on ^5, F5) — gold: it means they heard the phrase lean, and the signature card settles it.

Card check (10 seconds per student): circle complete with counts on both arms; both orders written with the reversal arrow; three enharmonic pairs labeled at the overlap; W W H W W W H with half steps marked 3–4 and 7–8; solfège ladder over degree numbers with ti (not si) at ^7; the personal home key spelled in full 8 notes with its signature (any of the fifteen keys is fine — graded for a lawful spelling, not for which key they love).

AI-critique full credit: names a specific claim checked, with either a caught error (most common: the C♭ scale misspelled or "simplified" to B major, or "C♯ and D♭ are the same key") or a real verification ("it spelled C♭ with every letter once and called the pair different keys — I checked it against my card"). "The AI said it was all correct" with no checking shown earns the partial band.

Where students collect their own responses (Round 1 broken-rung location wording, the personal home key), grade the method — honest marks, lawful spellings — never which key they chose.

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Grading rubric — 20 points

The rubric below maps the studio's parts to points; bands are full / partial / none. The async make-up path uses the identical rubric.

Criterion	Full	Partial	None
Round 1 — ear warm-up completed honestly, all five ladders judged, broken rung located (2)	2	1	0
Round 2 — circle chart: all 15 stops with counts and new accidentals, ≥13 correct (5)	5	3–4 (a few gaps or swapped orders)	0–2
Round 3 — speed round: ≥8 of 10 keys named correctly (5)	5	3–4 (5–7 correct; or right keys, sloppy names)	0–2
Round 4 — tunes: all four keys named with full correct signatures (4)	4	2–3 (keys right, signatures incomplete)	0–1
Key card: all six elements present and lawful at the card check (2)	2	1 (1–2 elements missing/wrong)	0
AI-critique: 2–3 sentences with a specific catch or a real verification (2)	2	1	0

Quality gate (self-checked): every relay, speed-round, and tune-round answer re-verified against the course theory reference (all fifteen signatures, both accidental orders, the four tune keys, the broken rung at D major's ^7); all four tune fences parse and their bars fit their meters; rubric sums 2+5+5+4+2+2 = 20; all notated tunes out of copyright per the registry; nothing purchased or downloaded.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 4 Studio — The circle relay"
assignment_group = "Studios"
points_possible  = 20
grading_type     = points
submission_types = [on_paper]        # in session; async make-up: online_upload (photos + short recording)
due              = in session, Week 4's second session; make-up by the end of Week 4
published        = true

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