The Circle of Fifths
The Circle of Fifths it is a geometrical representation of relationships among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale. It is a chart organizing all of the keys into a system that we can use to relate them to one another. There are several versions of this chart, the most common ones use only the major keys with only the chord symbols. Understanding how to read the circle of fifths will help you understand the relation between music’s major keys and their relative minor keys. A major key and its relative minor use the same key signature. The letters on the outside of the circle are the major keys and the letters on the inside are the minor keys.
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This is called the Circle of Fifths because each note is a perfect fifth away from another. A perfect fifth is the distance of 7 notes tones: A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E. When we go clockwise around the circle, we are going up a fifth. This is also called adding a sharp, because of the what it does to the key signature. When we go counter-clockwise, we are going down a fifth. This is also called adding a flat. You can also use the Circle of Fifths to work out any major or minor scale by going around the circle on the chart.
When playing most kinds of music, the most common chords will be the chord of the key you are working in, and the chords on either side of it on the circle. For example, if you are playing in the key of C, you'll likely use F and G as well. The closer two chords are on the circle, the better they will sound together. Part of the reason this is used so much in music is because they sound good.
Take any key you are in, and go to another chord around it. Then work back through the chords towards the main key again and use the chords around it. Try playing this on your guitar to see how it sounds. It's all about experimenting and seeing how it all works. Below is the chart showing you the relative major and minor keys.
Understanding The Relative Keys
By definition, the Circle of Fifths is a visual tool designed to illustrate the relationships between the 12 tones of the chromatic scale. Below is the Circle of Fifths drawn within the chromatic circle as a star dodecagon. A key difference between the chromatic circle and the Circle of Fifths is that the former is truly a continuous space, every point on the circle corresponds to a conceivable pitch class and every conceivable pitch class corresponds to a point on the circle. The circle of fifths is closely related to the chromatic circle, which also arranges the twelve equal tempered pitch classes in a circular ordering as you can see here.
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The 12 notes of the octave are written around the edge of the circle, each separated by a half-tone. If we go counterclockwise around the star, we go up 7 half-tones each time until we get back where we started: C,G,D,A,E,B,F#,C#,G#,D#,A#,F,C.
The interval of 7 half-tones is called a fifth, so this is called the Circle of Fifths. If we go clockwise around the star, we go up 5 half-tones each time, this interval is called a fourth, so this is called the Circle of Fourths.
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If you go around the circle clockwise, you get fifths, if you go counterclockwise, you get fourths. The Circle of Fifths can also be constructed by choosing any note and descending by fourths. If you start on C and go down, you get F. Go down another fourth and you get A#. Keep going down by fourths, and once again, you visit every note in the chromatic scale before landing back on C.
Connecting The Relative Notes
This diagram shows the circle with lines connecting pitches that are a semitone apart. To construct the circle, start on any note, for example, C, go up a fifth, and you get G, go up another fifth and you get D. If you keep going, you eventually visit all twelve notes in the chromatic scale before landing back on C.
It’s called a 5th because it’s the 5th note in a diatonic scale. For example, in the scale of C Major; C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. The 5th note is G. An easy way to remember what the 5ths are is by using a circle of fifths.
Let’s take a look at the 5ths for the 12 notes on the guitar staring in the key of C.
C to G, G to D, D to A, A to E, E to B, B to F#, F# to C#, C# to G#, G# to D#, D# to A#, A# to F & F to C.
The usual practice is to derive the circle of fifths progression from the seven tones of the diatonic scale, rather than from the full range of twelve tones in the chromatic scale. In practice, compositions rarely make use of the entire Circle of Fifths. More commonly, composers make use of the compositional idea of the cycle of fifths, when music moves consistently through a smaller or larger segment of the tonal structural resources which the circle abstractly represents. A simple way to hear the relationship between these notes is by playing them. When traversing the Circle of Fifths backwards, the notes will feel as they fit and just fall into place.