If the order of keys taken be that of the _Fifty Steps_, the following
diagram will show at a glance the underlying plan:

7 5 3 1 2 4 6
E[b] | B[b] | F || C || G | D | A

It should be noted that so far as the positions of the notes on the
stave are concerned, the key of A[b] is as easy to sing in as the key of
A, D[b] as D, and so on. This fact is sometimes overlooked, and
unnecessary difficulties are created for the children.

It is important for a class to sing at sight fluently in one key before
attempting a new one. Some teachers take keys in groups, and try to
teach them all together. This plan rarely leads to satisfactory results.


_Minor Keys._

It is wise to defer the treatment of these until all the major keys have
been mastered. The harmonic form of the scale of C minor should then be
taken, the children identifying the two notes new to them as the
flattened third and sixth of the scale. It is a good plan to get them to
sing a few melodies from the blackboard which are in C minor, but which
bear the signature of C major, the flattened third and sixth being
supplied. This impresses the new notes on the children.

Later on, the correct signature should be evolved by experiment, and the
same plan followed for the other keys, before the 'rule' for finding the
signature is discussed. The melodic form of the scale can then be