"The Circle of 5ths" -Drew Peterson The "circle of 5ths" is one of these things that keeps popping up in music theory, and ortunately, although it's absolutely crucial to modern music, it's really a pretty simple concept. Simply put, the Circle of 5ths is the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale arranged so they're a 5th apart. So how does that apply to the guitar? Well, the first pitch in the chromatic scale is C, so we'll start from there. What's a 5th above C? Well, G. Now what's a 5th above G? D. Continue until you get back to C. If you play this on the guitar, you'll get this (played as full major chords): C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# E# B# (Gb) (Db) (Ab) (Eb) (Bb) (F) (C) |---3---3---5---5---7---7---9----9----11---11---13---13---15---| |---5---3---7---5---9---7---11---9----13---11---15---13---17---| |---5---4---7---6---9---8---11---10---13---12---15---14---17---| |---5---5---7---7---9---9---11---11---13---13---15---15---17---| |---3---5---5---7---7---9---9----11---11---13---13---15---15---| |-------3-------5-------7--------9---------11--------13--------| The notes in parentheses below the sharp notes at the end are the "enharmonic equivalents," or a different name for the same pitch. The reason the 5th above the A# is called "E#" and not "F" is a product of the system of naming pitches in a scale. Each pitch can only be represented by one letter, and it's the relationship between the letters that determines the name of the interval, in this case, a 5th. For example, an A scale contains the pitches, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, and G#. The third scale degree will always be some sort of C note- in an A major, it'll be C#, in an A minor, it'll be C. This is because C# is the third degree of an A major scale. Even though C# and Db refer to the same pitches, it would be incorrect to say that there's a Db in an A major chord, because Db is the diminished (half step flat) 4th scale degree, not the major 3rd. Anal? Yes. But it makes things much easier when you're working with standard notation, so grit your teeth and bear it for now, and it'll become natural and save you trouble later. So, to backtrack a bit, even though E# is the same pitch as F, to say that the 5th of A# is F would be an interval not of a perfect 5th but rather a diminished 6th. Granted, the interval is the same distance of pitch, but they function musically in different ways. Ok, so what does this do for us? Well, as you played through the circle of fifths, you should notice that each chord sounds essentially "correct" in the context of the others- it sounds like something unusual is going on, but yet none of the chords sound really dissonant. Cool. That means, in theory, you should be able to build chord progressions from the circle of 5ths, right? Well, play the following musical example: tabbed by Andy Aledort (N.C) |---0----0-------------------0--------------------0------------------------| |-3/5--5\3------0------------0--------------------0------------7-----7-----| |-----------4\2-0-0h1----(1)-1--------------------1--------7---7-7---7-----| |-----------------0h2----(2)--------------5----4--2---9----7h9---7h9---9\--| |----------------------------------/5-----5----4--2---7--------------------| |---------------------0----------0------0----0----0-----0------------------| (repeat with variations) C G D A E ||-------------5--------------------------------------------0--------------|| ||-----5-----3-3-3-3----3-3------------------0-0------------0-----3-3-5----|| ||-----5-----4---4-4----2-2-2---2-2---2----1-1-1----------1---2/4-4-4---4\-|| ||-----5-----5---5-5----0---2-4-2-2-X-2----2---2----0---0-2----------------|| ||-3-3---3--------------0-------0---X------2-----/2---2---2----------------|| ||---------3---------/5-----------------3b-0--------------0----------------|| T As you've probably figured out, this is the beginning to Hendrix's "Hey Joe." (Actually, the rhythm part is from the second line, i liked it more than the first line. I got the tab from Hal Leonard "Hendrix: Are You Experienced?" book). The root notes of this progression are all from the E minor scale, but the chords themselves don't fit in neatly (for one, the E chord is major; additionally, the A chord contains a C#. You could treat this as a progression derrived from a scale containing the pitches E, F#, G, A, B, C, C#, and D, but that's not really true). Here Hendrix (or Billy Roberts, rather, the song's original composer) is playing off both the fact that you CAN move through the cycle of 5ths, and the tension created by such movement to create a strong release down to the E major chord at the end of the riff. What else is the Circle of 5ths good for? Well, it makes understanding key signatures far simpler. As you add sharps, you go upward through the circle of 5ths, and each time you add a sharp a half step below the key center. For example, no sharps is C major. One sharp is G major, and has F# as it's sole sharped note. Two sharps is D major, and contains F# and C# (which, if you'll notice, is a 5th above the first sharp you added; an alternate way of looking at this). Three sharps is A major, and contains F#, C#, and G#. And so on. Going the opposite direction, you descend through the circle of 5ths from C as you add flats, and the note that you flat is the next step down the circle of 5ths. For instance, C has no flats, F has one flat, which is Bb. Bb has two flats, Bb, and Eb. Eb has three flats, Bb, Eb, and Ab. And so on. Another thing the Circle of 5ths is useful for is changing keys. The resolution from a 5th to it's tonic note is fundamental to western harmony, and correspondingly, a key change of a 5th is fairly natural to the ear. For example, play a blues riff in A, but instead of resolving to the E in the turnaround, resolve to a B. This still sounds "natural" in the context of the A scale, but as the B is the 5th degree of E, it naturally wants to resolve to an E chord, like this: E D A B E (new key!) |-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------... |-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------... |-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------... |-9--9-11-9-9-9-11-9-7--7-9-7-7-7-9-7-------------------------------|-7-7-11-7-... |-7--7-7--7-7-7-7--7-5--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-7-9-7-7-7-9-7-7-7-9-9---9-9-|-9-9-9--9-... |-------------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-7---7-7-|----------... And then shuffle away in E. I'm not too familiar with the tune, but my dad says Johnny Cash does this all over the place in "I Walk The Line" (A country singer back when country singers kicked the crap out of people like Garth Brooks for fun). And this move can also be used to shift from major to minor- the chord built on the 5th degree is major in both the major scale and the harmonic minor scale (the one usually used to build chords from in minor keys, as it provides a stronger resolution back to the tonic chord), so by landing on the 5th from a major chord you can (if you phrase it carefully) go to a minor tonic chord. For an excellent example, take a look at Satriani's "Always With Me, Always With You." 3x Badd4 Emaj7/6 F#sus4 |--------------------------------------------------| |-------5-----------5------------4-----------2-----| |-----8---8-------8---8--------6---6-------4---4---| |---9-------9---9-------9----6-------6---4-------4-| |--------------------------------------------------| |-7-----------7-----------0------------2-----------| 4th time F#sus4/G# Emaj7/6 F#sus4 F# |-------------------------------------------------| |-------2-----------4-----------2-----------2-----| |-----4---4-------6---6-------4---4-------3---3---| |---4-------4---6-------6---4-------4---4-------4-| |-------------------------------------------------| |-4-----------0-----------2-----------2-----------| 3x Bmadd9 Emadd9 F#7sus4 |-----------------------------------------------------| |-----------------------------------------------------| |--------7-------------7------------0-----------4-----| |-----11---11-------11---11-------4---4-------2---2---| |---9---------9---9---------9---2-------2---4-------4-| |-7-------------7-------------0-----------2-----------| Gadd9 Emadd9 F#7sus4 F#7 |-------------------------------------------------| |-------------------------------------------------| |-------4-----------0-----------4-----------3-----| |-----7---7-------4---4-------2---2-------2---2---| |---5-------5---2-------2---4-------4---4-------4-| |-3-----------0-----------2-----------2-----------| Gadd9 Emadd9 F#7sus4 F#7 |----------------------------------------------------------------------| |----------------------------------------------------------------------| |-------4-----------0-----------4-----------4-----------3--------------| |-----7---7-------4---4-------2---2-------2---2-------2---2------------| |---5-------5---2-------2---4-------4---4-------4---4-------4----------| |-3-----------0-----------2-----------2-----------2-----------2--------| ...and back to the major chords. Once again, the F#7 can resolve to either a minor or major B chord, and by dwelling on it at the end as he does, he both weakens the "minor" sound of the progression and increases the tension leading back to the tonic chord, creating a powerful release back to the major chord. That's about it for the general idea behind and uses of the circle of 5ths. I'll upload a few diagrams if i get a chance- it's called a "circle" of 5ths because it's usually laid out in a circle. (Due to it's cyclic nature, this works rather nicely). You can use the resolution from the 5th trick after moving through the circle a bit, too, so if you have the patience and it fits the situation, you can do some more extreme key shifts that way. Enjoy! :o) -Drew