Circle of Fifths

[subaqueous]

Basics of the circle:

The circle of fifths is an intuitive method for determining the relationships among all of the tones and key signatures used in music. It offers composers a way to visualize how the tonic and fifth degrees of a scale are linked and is useful for creating chords, harmonizing melodies and deciding how to move music to different pitch centers. The circle of fifths is also useful for musicians since it provides a way to efficiently anticipate and understand harmonic progressions and scale relationships found throughout music.


This image shows the circle of fifiths with all the colors using what is in Abelton. This way you can color your tracks in such a way that you can easily do harmonic mixing.

So basically the Circle of fifths is an easy way to make chords and notes that sound good together with in any scale. You pick a root, or key. Lets say C major. The major notes are one either side. F and G. The minor notes and chords are then D A and E. The diminished is B.

All of these notes will sound good togeather. You can also use them for chord progression. Go from a C chord to a D minor to an E minor to an D minor then back to C. Other such great ideas can be found in the circle.

Working with the Fifths is also GREAT for mixing live. If you have a song in C Major then mix with in the circle to get a really nice mix. It will add worlds to your DJing.Just as beat matching is important so is Harmonic Mixing.

Here is a great website that will give you an Interactive Circle of Fifths to play with.

http://randscullard.com/CircleOfFifths/

This is just a basic run down of some ideas. There is a lot to know on the circle and it will help your music production and mixing immensely.

[psenior]

An interesting thing I recently learned about the circle of fifths is that scales are derived from it. For example, start on C and go either direction around the wheel 5 times and list those notes. You will get a pentatonic scale. Go 7 times; you will get a major scale. 8 times, you will get a bebop dominant scale. 9, 10 and 11 times will also get you variants of the bebop dominant scale that I use but have never discussed here. Very cool!

[manducator]

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... highlight=

[manducator]

An interesting thing I recently learned about the circle of fifths is that scales are derived from it. For example, start on C and go either direction around the wheel 5 times and list those notes. You will get a pentatonic scale. Go 7 times; you will get a major scale. 8 times, you will get a bebop dominant scale. 9, 10 and 11 times will also get you variants of the bebop dominant scale that I use but have never discussed here. Very cool!

Wow, great find. Is there more about it? Do you have a link about scales and circle of fifths?

[jancivil]

There is a lot to know on the circle and it will help your music production and mixing immensely.

One of the things to *know* about this circle is that you have posed enharmonic equivalents without noting that it is so/without posing the correct spelling. That may seem pedantic to point out, but as this is targeted for noobs, it should be clarified as this is not a true basic reference, eg., to tell them that E major has as its relative minor Db minor. One is a sharp key, the other a flat key that isn't used normally: Db minor (Fb major)'s key signature necessarily has as the 'last' flat B double flat for instance (7 flats and a double flat). That isn't a useful key sig. It should read C# minor. 4 sharps.

From there moving to the left, the next three should read:
B/Cb with the rel. minor G#/Ab (5 sharps/7 flats); F#/Gb with the rel. minor D#/Eb (6 sharps/6 flats); C#/Db with the rel. minor A#/Bb (7 sharps/5 flats).

You can see from this that these enharmonic equivalents read: 5 sharps/7 flats; 6/6; 7/5 (equalling 12, the total number of keys). That could be useful for an understanding of key signatures as a reference chart, for a beginner that wants the more thorough-going understanding anyway.

[psenior]

Wow, great find. Is there more about it? Do you have a link about scales and circle of fifths?

I don't have the link to the info I posted. I read it somewhere on an old Usenet archive when Googling every post made by a certain very knowledgeable jazz guitarist.

Everybody uses the circle of fifths to generate major and natural minor scales in the way jancivil is describing. I just mentioned my findings as another hopefully interesting and useful perspective on how it can be used.

[como baila]

An interesting thing I recently learned about the circle of fifths is that scales are derived from it. For example, start on C and go either direction around the wheel 5 times and list those notes. You will get a pentatonic scale. Go 7 times; you will get a major scale. 8 times, you will get a bebop dominant scale. 9, 10 and 11 times will also get you variants of the bebop dominant scale that I use but have never discussed here. Very cool!

Hmmm ... I'm missing something. I get 5 for the pentatonic ... C/G/D/A/E, but 7 for the major comes to C/G/D/A/E/B/F#?

Como

[psenior]

CGDAEBF# is all the notes of G major.

[como baila]

Right ... but the other poster stated that counting from any place on the circle by seven you get the major scale. I assumed it was the major of the note you start from. It works out for the Pentatonic ... but not for the major. It appears counting by 7 gets your the major scale of the dominant of the tonic where you start. So, still, ????

Como