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circle of Fifths

Volume 1:Major keys

How it applies to scales and chords.

Table of Contents

Introduction

One Chord and the Truth

The Tonal Center

Beyond the Tonal Center

Scales

The Major Scale

Key Signatures and Tonal Center

Intervals

The Circle of Fifths

Ring of Chords

Chord Function

Chord Progressions

Secondary Dominants

Conclusion

Glossary of Terms

The Circle of Fifths Diagram

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....11

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Forward

It is surprising how much the Circle of Fifths is talked about and how little it is actuallyused. I’ve actually known people who could recall it perfectly from memory, but they didnot have a clue about how to use it. It is my intention to offer a concise explanation ofhow you can use it to further you own musical interests. I’ve tried to keep technicalterms to a minimum but have provided a glossary for those words that are important toa musician to know. Feel free to email me at [email protected] with any commentsyou might have about this book. Till then....

Best regards— Tom Michero

Copyright 2011 Tom MicheroAll Rights Reserved

WARNING: Any duplication or reproductionof this material without the written consent

of the owner is an infringement of U.S.copyright law. Such infringement is subject

to substantial penalties and liabilities.Please respect the creative rights of artists,

authors, and inventors.v1.00.1

2

IntroductionIt is the purpose of this book to give you a clear under-standing of how music is put together in as short a time aspossible.

When it comes to playing better, your time is best spentpracticing. However, knowing what to practice and why youare doing it will produce better results. Besides, rote prac-tice alone will get you only so far. It is one thing to playmusic. It is another thing to feel like your communicating real emotion via a unique artform. It is the difference between speaking the sounds of a foreign language versusunderstanding the meaning of the words. The Circle of Fifths holds in it the informationevery serious musician needs to know.

So let’s get on with it.

My wife, Silky, recently bought a ukulele and took some lessons so she could play withher friends who were also new to the ukulele. She had a teacher who taught her a fewchords. She was very enthusiastic about learning her new instrument and looked for-ward to attending ukulele meet-ups to play along with friends.

At her first meet-up she was by far the newest learner. One of the more seasoned play-ers handed out lead sheets with the chords to “Dark Eyes.” When Silky looked at thelead sheet her gaze went blank. She might as well have been lookingat an ancient Egyptian papyrus. There we no chords in “Dark Eyes”that she had ever seen. She looked at me for a life line. “What do Ido?” she asked.

I quickly showed her how to play a single chord on her ukulele andtold her to strum that chord throughout the song. All she needed to dowas strum to the rhythm.

In the end the song sounded great. Not a single sour note. None ofthe other players were aware that my wife didn’t know the song. Witha single chord she was able to contribute to the harmony of the songand enjoy playing along with players much more advanced than shewas.

It’s all about having fun and if you know just a little more about musicthan you do now, you can enjoy playing music with others even if youknow only one chord.

One Chord and the Truth

3

The first thing to know about music is that in most everysong there is a single note that can be played through-out the entire song without it sounding off. This note isknown as the tonal center.

In contemporary music, this tonal center is disguised,hidden, and substituted. Musicians and composerstoday blend the notes of songs with the skill of a circusjuggler. In fact, one of the things that makes jazz jazz isthat the tonal center shifts fluidly throughout the song. This adds tonal variety and inter-est. Like a passenger enjoying a train ride, the listener experiences a changing melodiclandscape.

This tonal movement doesn’t just happen. A musician needs to know what they aredoing to pull it off well. That is why understanding how music works is essential to a cre-ative musician.

The Tonal Center

Finding a Tonal Center with Your EarYour ear is your best tool for finding the tonal center of a song, but first you will need toknow what it feels like when you actually hear the tonal center. An easy way to trainyourself to recognize this is to vocalize to a vowel like “ah” to a note played on a pianoor guitar. What you are trying to do here is sing thesame note that is emanating from the instrument.

When you find the note, you will feel a vibration inyour nose, throat, and ears. This may take somepractice but it is good basic training for your ear.By remembering this feeling, you can find the tonalcenter of a song.

To find the tonal center, listen to a song for a whileand then sing or hum a single note. Adjust yourpitch up or down until you feel what you did when you sang along with the instrument.This note you are singing will most likely be the tonal center.

This process works best on slow songs with simple melodies so when starting out,choose a song accordingly. It is also a good practice to find a single note on an instru-ment that matches the tonal center of a song. As a song plays, pick out the note on yourinstrument that most closely matches the tonal center of the song. When you find theright note you still may feel vibrations in your throat and sinuses. I play the guitar sowhen I do this I can feel the vibrations resonating from the guitar pass through mychest. You may also feel this as much as hear it.

G

C

F

4

Beyond the Tonal Center

AA>BD<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

Any sound that produces a regular vibration can be called a tone. However, there arecertain tones that we call notes because they vibrate at specific frequencies. Thesetones we call notes and have been given letter names.

55 58 62 65 69 73 78 82 87 93 98 104 110

110 117 124 131 139 147 156 165 175 185 196 208 220

220 233 247 262 277 294 311 330 349 370 392 416 440

440 466 494 523 554 587 622 659 698 740 784 831 880

880 932 988 1046 1108 1174 1244 1318 1396 1480 1568 1662 1760

1760 1864 1976 2092 2216 2348 2488 2636 2792 2960 3136 3334 3520

Some of the notes are known by a single letter. Notes that fall between these noteshave two names indicated by > (sharp) or < (flat). This means that A> and B< are refer-ring to the same tone and its specific frequency. Whether the < or > is used to describeone of these notes is determined by traditional ways of writing music. When the twonotes with different names refer to the same tone, they are called enharmonic.

In some rare cases, a note might appear with two flat (<) signs, like B<<. This is a way torefer to the note that is two notes lower than the given note, in this case B. That meansthat B<< = A. Don’t worry. This does not happen often.

Do Di Re Ri Mi Fa Fi So Si La Li Ti Do

Nick-names for NotesThere is another way to refer to these notes. It is much less formal than the letter nameof the tone and not used as often, but I wanted to mention it because I want to empha-size that it doesn’t matter what you call these twelve tones. The thing that matters is thatthere are only twelve tones that are used in the creation of music in the western culture.

The alternative method of naming these tones is called solmization. It is used in a styleof music called shape-note singing. It looks like this:

Notes

Frequency{(cycles per second)

5

Twelve Notes.That All Folks!While there is an infinite number of possible tones, there are only twelve notes in all ofmodern music. Even with an instrument like a grand piano which has 88 keys there areonly 12 notes on it. “So, what’s going on?” you ask.

A grand piano keyboard begins with A. This note vibrates at about 28 times a second.This is a very low note. If you play this note and hold the key down so it can resonateyou will establish a tonal center. Now play each note, one at a time, going from left toright. When you come to the twelfth note something happens. This note sounds almostlike the first note. You may experience a feeling of closure or resolution when you hitthis note. In fact, when you arrive at the twelfth note, you have returned to the tonal cen-ter. The reason the two notes sound similar is that the higher note vibrates at twice thefrequency of the first note and shares with it the same harmonic qualities. All of thetones that share the same harmonic qualities are named the same, and the harmonicdistance between them is called an octave.

As you discovered, to get from one note to the note that is an octave above (or below)you played 12 keys on a piano or 12 frets on a guitar. Then the sequence repeats. Nomatter what note you begin on, the same thing occurs. That is why I say there are only12 notes in all of music. These notes make up what is called the chromatic scale.

Chromatic ScaleThe chromatic scale consists of 12 tones. You can begin a chromatic scale on any ofthe 12 notes. The important thing to remember is that whatever note you begin on, thatnote repeats when you double the frequency (or halve it). That means the tones thatvibrate at the frequencies below are all called A.

A = 28 55 110 220 440 880 1760 3,520

Guitars and pianos are designed to play the chromatic scale. You can start a chromaticscale on any note you wish, and the result is always the same. The beginning note andthe end note have the same name, and one is twice the frequency of the other.

AA>BD<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1

Octave

The tonal distance between two notes that are twelve notes apart is called an octave.

6

Each Note is a Half StepThe notes on a keyboard (and in the chro-matic scale) are a half-step apart. That’sright, a half-step. If you have a problemwith this, think of a complete step as thedistance from where your left foot lands towhere it lands again if you were marching.The other foot is the “half-step.” At anyrate, that means there are 12 half-stepsthat make up an octave. These half-stepsare also called semitones.

You’re probably thinking, ”If an octave has12 half-steps, it also has six whole steps.But, I thought a scale had eight notes in it.What’s up?” Yes, there are six whole stepsin an octave, but it’s not called an octavebecause of the steps. It is called an octavebecause of the number of notes that makeup the most common scale used in West-ern culture music.

A = 110 A = 220 A = 440 A = 880

The OctaveWhen thinking about music, it is common to think of it as it appears on the piano. Eachkey on the piano plays a single note. However, the great thing about the keyboard is thatit shows the chromatic scale in a straight-forward manner with actual physical distancebetween the notes. In reality there is not a “distance” between notes. You can’t measurethe distance between two vibrations with a tape measure. However, because the keys arenext to each other, it is easy to think of them as being a distance apart.

The “distance” between two notes with the same name is an octave. On a piano the dis-tance between A notes looks like this:

half

whole

A B C

B<

7

Scales

The chromatic scale is a set of notes that contains all the possible tones available to usin our system of music. However, it is uncommon for them all to appear in the samepiece of music. Music actually gets its character from pre-selected notes chosen (andnot chosen) from the chromatic scale.

You (and I mean you) can create a scale simply by choosing any number of these 12notes and playing them one after another. If we take the 12 notes of the chromatic scaleand chose to play only the ones that are a whole-step apart, we have created a scale.This is called the whole-tone scale. Even though it seems rational to choose six noteswhich are the same distance apart, the sound of this scale sounds anything but rational.The scale has an airy and dreamy feel to it.

Now let’s select a different group of notes. Let’s make a scale with seven notes and let’ssay no note can be more than a whole-step (two semitones) apart. There are a limitednumber of possibilities but still there are plenty of scales that could be made that wouldfit these specifications. The scale below whose notes are spaced this way is call theDiatonic Scale. It will sound very familiar when you play it.

AA>BD<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

AA>BD<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

When you choose notes a whole-step apart you create a scale known as the Whole-Tone Scale.

When you choose seven notes and none are more than a whole-step apart you create this

scale known as the Diatonic Scale.

Whole-Tone Scale in A

AA>BD<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

Chromatic Scale

Diatonic Scale in A

8

The Major Scale

The primary scale used in pop, jazz, country, rock, and classical music today is theseven-note scale called the Diatonic scale. The Diatonic scale is a fancy name for whatmost people call the Major scale. The Major scale is the scale that goes do, re, mi, fa,sol, la, ti, do. It is by far the most important scale in Western culture.

The scale is made up of tones in a specific tonal pattern. Below is a diagram of theMajor scale showing the spacing between each of its notes.

A>B<

BC CC>D<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

half half half half half half half half half half half half

halfhalfwhole whole whole whole whole

halfhalfwhole whole whole whole

This scale is actually made up of two identical patterns. When the labels are removed,

you can easily see it.

DD>E<

E F F>G<

G GG>A<

AA>BD<


The diagram above starts on C. If we start this Major scale pattern on G, we create theG Major scale and it looks like the diagram below. The thing to notice here is that thepattern with all the spacing is the same as the C Major scale. The only difference is thenote the scale begins on.

The tonal distance between the beginning note of a scale and the ending note is called

an octave. In music this distance is called an interval. So, in the diagram above it is cor-

rect to say that the interval between G and G is an octave.

9

One of the special aspects of the Diatonic scale is that it creates a well defined tonalcenter. That means as the notes are played, our ears (and our brain) hold the beginningnote in our memory. This note can become the harmonic foundation of a song. Thistonal center is so strong in this scale that it is easy to anticipate the root when the sev-enth note is played. The scale seems to land when the octave note is finally played.

Demonstrate this for yourself. Play the Diatonic scale starting on C. Listen to how thescale seems to come to an end when you go from the seventh note to the octave.

A>B<

BC CC>D<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

half half half half half half half half half half half half


&C D G A B CE F

w w w w ww w w

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

C Major Scale

The tonal center, that is the first note of the scale, is the key of the scale. The Diatonicscale that starts on C is called the C Major scale. Often this is shortened to become CMajor or even “key of C.” (This can create some confusion since there is a chord calledC major. I’ll use a capital “M” when I’m referring to a scale and a little “m” when I’mreferring to a chord).

Since each note of the Chromatic scale can be the beginning of a scale, there are 12possible keys. Most songs have a single key that doesn’t change. That means that thetonal center of the song is the same throughout the song. You can pick out this note onyour instrument while the song is playing. It is good ear training to identify the key in thisway. You have only 12 possibilities so it is not all that hard. You know you have foundthe key when the note you are playing sounds harmonious to the song. You will be ableto play this note throughout the song. It seems to blend with every other note played.

Not all songs have a single tonal center. In fact, jazz is known by its changing tonal cen-ters. So, how do you know what key you are in when it changes all the time? That’swhere the key signature comes in.

10

Key Signatures and Tonal Center

The first note of a Diatonic scale is the note that all the other notes of that scale relate toharmonically. A song that uses the Diatonic scale will have a tonal center and its tonalcenter will be the first note of that Diatonic scale. It is not the first note of a song thatdetermines the tonal center, rather it is the first note of the scale being used that deter-mines it. Earlier in this book, when you tried to sing a single note that made your headand throat vibrate, it was the first note of the scale that song was written in that youwere singing.

The root note of the scale is the tonal center of that scale. The scale upon which a songis based is said to be that song’s key. For instance, a song that is based on the C Majorscale is said to be “in the key of C.” The C note is the root of the scale and the tonalcenter of the song – most of the time.

Key SignaturesScales are made up of notes of different names. Some of those names have sharps inthem, some have flats. A system was devised to write these notes without having toalways write the sharp or flat in front of the note. This system allows the composer toindicate what key the song is in and makes it easier to read and write the music.

The key signature is actually a shorthand way to indicate what notes make up the key.Without this shorthand, every time a sharp or flat occurred in the scale, it would need tobe noted on the staff next to the note. The staff below shows the notes of E< Major writ-ten on a blank staff without a key signature.

b b b bw w w w w w w

wNotes of Eb Major

E< F G A< B< C D E<

Now look at the same scale with the same notes written using the key signature of E<.

& bbb w w w w w w w wNotes of Eb Major scale written in key of Eb Major

E< F G A< B< C D E<

11

& b bnb#w w w w w w w

wNotes of Eb Major scale written in key of G Major

E< F G A< B< C D E<

The proper flat notes are indicatedin the signature. The key signa-ture here indicates that the notesthat occur on the lines or spacesthat are marked with a < areassumed to be flat. In the case ofE< Major this would include thenotes B<, E< and A<. The musi-cian just needs to rememberwhich notes are flatted while play-ing.

As I mentioned earlier, the keysignature is usually the same asthe tonal center of the entire songbut there are exceptions. Manysongs have a shifting tonal centerthat is caused by the incorporationof scales with different root notes.Sometimes the composer will indi-cate this by writing a new key signature on the staff. However, more often than not thecomposer relies on adding accidentals (sharps, flats, and naturals) in front of the note.

Below are the notes of E< Major as they would appear on sheet music written in the keyof G Major. The notes sound the same. They are just written differently. The natural sign( ` ) makes the F> an F natural.

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& bbb w w w w w w w wNotes of Eb Major scale written in key of Eb Major

E< F G A< B< C D E<

G Major

Eb Major

12

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

GEORGE JOHNSON

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& wC

C D E F G A B C

G

G A B C D E F> G

D

D E F> G A B C> D

A

A B C> D E F> G> A

E

E F> G> A B C> D> E

B

B C> D> E F> G> A> B

F#

F> G> A> B C> D> F F>

F

F G A B< C D E F

B<

B< C D E< F G A B<

E<

E< F G A< B< C D E<

A<

A< B< C D< E< F G A<

D<

D< E< F G< A< B< C D<

G<

G< A< B< C< D< E< F G<

& w

&#

&## w

&##w

&### w

&### w

&b w

&bb

&bbb w

&bbbb w

&bbbbb w

&bbbbbb w

Key SignaturesHere are twelve key signatures of the DiatonicScale. The note on the staff indicates the tonalcenter of the key which will also include theoctaves of that note.

13

Intervals

An interval is the tonal distance between two notes. It is often useful to think of the dis-tances between notes rather than the notes themselves. It is the relative position ofnotes that gives a scale or melody its sound.

A system of referring to these distances was developed that uses the Diatonic scale asthe basis for the names given to these intervals. For instance, the fourth note of the Dia-tonic scale is 2-1/2 whole steps from the first note (sometimes called the root). There-fore, the interval distance between two notes separated by 2-1/2 whole steps is called afourth. Similarly, the fifth note of the Diatonic scale is 3-1/2 whole steps from the firstnote. Therefore, the interval between two notes separated by 3-1/2 whole steps is calleda fifth.

second note

first note

third note

fourth note

siXthnote

seventhnote

eighth note

fifth note


A>B<

BC CC>D<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

interval of a fourth

interval of a fifth

interval of a fifth

interval of a fourth

Fourth and Fifth IntervalsThese intervals have a special relationship to the root note of the scale. You can see in

the diagram above that the distance to the root could be described two ways. From the

F note you can go up the scale a fifth to the root or down the scale a fourth to the

root. Similarly, from the G note you can get to the root by going up a fourth or down a

fifth.

These two intervals are the central elements on which the circle of fifths is based. And

by the way, it is sometimes called the circle of fourths.

14

major second

Minor Second

major third

Minor Third

perfect fourth

Augmented Fourth / Diminished Fifth

Augmented Fifth / Minor Sixth

perfect fifth

major siXth

Minor Seventh

major seventh

octave

<7 7thRoot

Octave

<2 2nd <3 3rd 4th >4<5

5th >5<6

6th

Nam

es of

inte

rval

s

A>B<

BC CC>D<

DD>E<

E FF>G<

GG>A<

A

There are, of course, other intervals that are important too. The diagram below showsthe names given to all intervals that make up the Diatonic scale as well as the inbetween notes.

All of these intervals are within a single octave. There are even larger intervals thatmeasure notes beyond a single octave. Those intervals measure the distance betweennotes in some vary large chords, none of which will be dealt with in this book, however.

15

1/21 1-1/222-1/233-1/244-1/255-1/2 6

Steps Interval Name

Interval Namesand

Distances {1.........2.........3.........4.........5.........6.........7.........8.........9.........

10........11........12........

Semi-tones

Minor SecondMajor SecondMinor ThirdMajor Third Perfect FourthAugmented Fourth or Diminished FifthPerfect FifthAugmented Fifth or Minor SixthMajor SixthMinor SeventhMajor SeventhOctave

Names of IntervalsThe list of interval names above show the official names for these intervals. However,the ways these intervals are actually refered to can be confusing. Musicians will oftenrefer to an interval in a generic way without being specific if the interval is major, minor,augmented, or diminished. Musicians will talk about “the third.” You have to understandthe context to know if they are talking about a minor third or a major third. The samething happens with “the seventh.”

Major vs. MinorThe 2nd, 3rd, and 6th intervals are called major or minor. The interval before a majorinterval can be called minor or flatted as in a minor third or a flatted third which are thesame interval. A minor 7th and a flatted 7th are the same.

PerfectThe 4th and 5th are called perfect. They are “perfect” not because they are better thanother intervals. Perfect here refers to them being complete which has to do with theirspecial harmonic qualities. At any rate, the interval a semitone lower is called dimin-ished and the interval a semitone higher is called augmented. You might also hearsomeone say “sharp four” which equals an augmented fourth. Likewise, the intervals asemitone lower and higher than a perfect fifth might be called a “flatted 5th” and “sharpfive” respectively.

You know you are a real musician when you hear someone ask, “What’s the flat five inthe key of A<?” and you can answer with, “That would be D natural.” One of the benefitsof knowing music theory is that you can communicate with other musicians. Unfortu-nately, musicians can be down right sloppy with their terms but if you know your inter-vals, you’ll be able to understand what they mean.

16

The Circle of Fifths is a graphic representation of two important intervals, the fourth andthe fifth. While Circle of Fifths is the more popular name, you will sometimes see it ref-ered to as the Circle of Fourths.

When these intervals are depicted graphically in a circle,many other important musical elements are revealed.Since music is the result of different regular frequenciesresonating with each other, its ability to create patterns isnearly endless. What prisms do to light, instruments do tomusic. And just as a kaleidescope shows patterns of light,the Circle of Fifths shows a pattern of music. This patternis useful in understanding how music is put together.

The Ring of NotesMost of the time the Circle of Fifths is shown as a ring with 12 (or 15) notes on it. Thisstripped down version has left many musicians scratching their heads wondering what itall means. To be sure, such a basic diagram does nothing to show you how and whythis information is so useful.

There are 12 distinct keys or tonalcenters in music. There are, how-ever, three keys that share the sametones but their notes go by differentnames. For instance, even thoughthe key of D< and C> sound identi-cal, they are written differently on amusical staff.

Each of the 12 keys is made up ofseven notes. So, 12 keys times 7notes equals 84 notes (12 x 7 = 84).

When you wrap these 84 notes in acircle and highlight every seventhnote, you can see why the notes onthe Circle of Fifths are arrangedthey way they are. The interval of afifth is 3-1/2 whole steps up thescale.

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Going clockwise around the Circle of

Fifths each of the large notes is an inter-

val of a fifth higher than the one before.

5th

17

Ring of ScalesAs mentioned in the previous section, the Circle of Fifths is based on 12 keys. Thismeans that there are also 12 scales on the circle as well.

Beginning at the top, the notesof the C Major scale can be seenlaid out in a clockwise direction.The scale notes go from C to Cas marked by the inner curvingarc.

In the middle of the C Majorscale is G which is a fifth aboveC. Here, on G, begins the sec-ond of the 12 scales of the circle.The G Major scale continues inthe same direction around thecircle. Again, a fifth up from G isD. Here the D Major scale con-tinues. This same patternrepeats and finishes were webegan at C.

These scales exhibit an inter-locking pattern. The last four notes of one scale are the beginning four notes of the fol-lowing scale. This overlapping of scales means that some keys share the sameharmonic structure with other keys. This structure looks like this:

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Overlapping scales always share six of the same notes. Only one note is different, but

this difference is enough to shift the tonal center. However, the similarities of the scales

also can be used manipulate the tonal center and give a song varied harmonic move-

ment.

C Major Scale

D Major Scale

G Major Scale

G Major Scale

C Major Scale

18

Ring of SignaturesAs the scales go around the circlein the clockwise direction, eachscale adds an additional sharp (>)its key signature. That means thekey of G has one sharp. The keyof D has two sharps, and so on.The notes that are to be sharpedin each scale are so noted on theappropriate lines of the staff.

This adding of sharps holds truefor every scale in the circle. How-ever, convention holds that scalesthat would be called G>, D>, A>,and E>> be written and named astheir enharmonic equivalents, A<,E<, B<, and F. The bottom threekeys, B, F>, and D< are an excep-tion. They can be written C<, G<, and C>, respectively.

As a contrast, when you move counter-clockwise around the circle, the scales add a flat(<) to each successive scale. This means the key of F has one flat. The key of B< hastwo and so on. As with the sharps, this pattern holds for all of the scales. However, thescales that would be F<, B<<, E<<, and A<< are written as their enharmonic equivalents,E, A, D, and G.

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A<D<

G<C< C>

F>B

G

DA

EE

<B<

F

These scales are never

written using sharps.

These scales are never

written using flats.

These scales can be

written with sharps or flats.

Because three of the 12 scales can be written two differ-

ent ways, techniquely there are 15 scales. Fortunately,

these scales are not used that often.

19

Ring of Chords

Normally, chord construction is not part of mostdescussions about the Circle of Fifths, but sincethe circle is so much about harmonic movement itseems to me like it belongs. That is why I haveadded “petals” to the normal ring to illustrate thisand to aid musicians in the calculation and cre-ation of chords regardless of key.

Chord ConstructionChord construction follows a specific pattern that isrepeated in each key. Quite simply, chords are cre-ated by stacking notes that are a major or minor third apart. A major third is made up offour half steps. A minor third is made up of three half steps.

This “stacking of thirds” happens naturally if you were to include every other note of thescale in your chord. The note you begin on would be the root of the chord. This patternworks no matter what note you start your chord on.

Ivi iiiC

viiii

VIV

G

DB

F

EA

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For instance, the notes C-E-G create a C Major chord. If you add the next note (B), youend up with a C Major 7th chord. When you add the D, you have a C Major 9th chord. Ifyou were to add all of the notes (C-E-G-B-D-F-A), you would have a C Major 13thchord. The same pattern applies if we start on any note. If our chord begins with G, thatproduces G-B-D. That is G Major. G-B-D-F gives us G7. In every case every, the notesthat are included in our chords belong to the C Major scale. Chords that are created thisway are said to be Diatonic to the key from which they derive.

This process that creates chords can best be seens as a loopsince the pattern repeats. This allows you to see that Am7 (A-C-E-G) belongs to the same pattern. You also may havenoticed that within the chord of Am7 are the notes of a C Majorchord. There are harmonic forces at work here that give chordstheir character and determine how they function in a song.

Chords that are Diatonic to a key can be created by “stacking” every

other note of that key. This way of creating chords produces all of the pos-

sible chords that belong to a given key.

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20

Chord Function

Chords that make up a key have specific functions whenthey occur in a song. If you listen carefully to songs, thereis usually a feeling of movement. This movement can bevery dramatic or subtle and can elicit an emotional reactionfrom the listener. This movement usually begins with a feel-ing of stability, then it shifts a bit. It is still stable but you cantell something changed. Eventually, you will notice a changethat sounds dissonant. The music sounds strained and thatproduces a feeling of tension. Finally, the movement returns tostability which produces a feeling of resolution or completeness. The arrangement of thechords of a song creates harmonic movement which in turn creates emotional move-ment.

Elements of Movement The elements of harmonic movement are stability, change, and tension. The Diatonicscale is made up of chords that express this harmonic movement. Each chord of theDiatonic scale has a name that describes how it is to function in the key. Those func-tions can be summed up into three harmonic categories, tonic, sub-dominant, and domi-

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The element of tonal harmony are stability,

change, and tension. Chords of the Dia-

tonic scale can be grouped according to the

role they play in creating tonal movement.

Sub-Dominant

Tonic

Dominant

Chord FamiliesThe chords of a key can be

grouped into chord families based

on the function they play. The ring

of chord notes can be used to

identify which chords fall into

which families. The note repre-

sents the root note of the chord.

21

Chord DegreesThough several keys share the same chords, those chords willfunction differently in each key. For instance, a C Major chordis the tonic chord in the key of C, but it is a sub-dominantchord in the key of G. A system has been devised to refer, ina generic way, to chords as they are arranged in a scale.

This system counts the chords from the root of a key usingRoman numerals. When you hear musicians talk about songbeing a “one, four, five,” they are using this numbering system.They are telling you what chords make up the song.

In the real world, a musician might refer to “the threechord of E<.” They are assuming that you understandthat the chord based on the third note of E< is a G chordand a minor at that. The “four chord” of E< is A< Major.

There are two different ways musicians use Romannumerals to indicate the chords of a key. Both systemsare widely used. One system uses capital Romannumerals with a suffix to describe if a chord is major orminor (Ex. IIIm, VIm). The other system uses capital let-ters for major chords and lower-case Roman numbersfor minor chords (III vs. iii). The latter system is the oneused on the Lotus Music Circle of Fifths.

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Chords are refered to generically with Roman numerals. This way of

describing chords allows musicians to talk about the chords of a song

without specifically refering to the key. Though any song can be written

in any or all of the 12 keys, the structure, that is the arrangement of the

chords does not.

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22

Chord Progressions

It is the arrangement of chords in a song that gives a song its harmonic movementwhich in turn moves us emotionally. The arrangement of chords that create harmonicmovement is called a chord progression.

Making Harmonic MovementHarmonic movement is created as chords change throughout a song. The chord-familya chord belongs to determines its function within a given key. It is the arrangement ofthese chords in a song that creates harmonic movement.

Harmonic movement between chords of the samefamily produces little movement. In order to reallycreate movement you need to move from one fam-ily to another. Often songs will start with a chord orchords from the tonic chord family. At some pointthe song will introduce chords from the sub-domi-nant family. There is often some back and forthmovement among chords of the tonic and sub-dominant families. Eventually, a chord or chords ofthe dominant family occur in the song. When theydo, their harmony seems to put things in a bit oftension. Finally, the song returns to a chordbelonging to the tonic family. This return creates afeeling of resolution. Some people describe thedominant-to-tonic harmonic movement like holdingyour breath (the dominant chord) and then lettinggo (the tonic chord).

There are many possible chord progressions that can be produced. Composers arecoming up with new ways to put chords together all the time. There are some progres-sions that have become favorites. There is probably no progression more popular thanthe I-IV-V. In the key of C those chords are C, F, and G.

The diagram to the right shows the flow of theharmonic movement of one of the most popularchord progressions in music today. You can seehow it follows the simple pattern of stability,change, tension with a return to stability.

The following page shows other progressions thatin essence do the same.

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Sub-Dominant

Tonic

Dominant

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I - IV - VC - F - G

Sub-Dominant

Dominant

Tonic

ChangeTension

StaBility23

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I - IV - VC - F - G

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I - IV - viio - iii - vi - ii - VC - F - Bdim - Em - Am - Dm - G

I - V - vi - IVC - G - Am - F

vi - IV - I - VAm - F - C - G

I - vi - IV - VC - Am - F - G

I - ii - IV - VC - Am - F - G

I - ii - IVC - Dm - F

I - IV - V - IVC - F - G - F

IV - I - IV - VF - C - F - G

I - ii - VC - Dm - G

I - iii - IV - VC - Em - F - G

I - vi - ii - VC - Am - Dm - G

I - iii - vi - ii - VC - Em - Am - Dm - G

Common ProgressionsThis is by no means a completelist of all possible Diatonic chordprogressions. In reality, com-posers often add non-Diatonicchords to “color” the tonal char-acter of a song.

Sub-Dominant

Dominant

Tonic

24

Secondary Dominants

Composers and improvisors often add extra chords to their progressions to create moreharmonic movement in their compositions or solos. Chords know as secondary domi-nant chords are among the most popular type of chords for doing this. They are calledsecondary because they are used in addition to the primary dominant chord thatbelongs to the key the music is in. All dominant chords have a special tension aboutthem that is relieved or shifted by the following chord.

You can create this tonal movement by inserting the right dominant chord in front of anyexisting chord. Not just any dominant chord will do. The dominant chord’s root needs tobe a fifth above the root of the chord that follows. In the example below, line #1 shows aI-ii-V chord progression. Each chord takes up one measure.

� CCmmaajj77 DDmm77 GG77

� Cmaj77 Dm77A77 GG77

#1

#2

� Cmaj7 Dm7A7Em7 G7#3

In line #2 a secondary dominant chord (A7) is inserted before the Dm7. Notice that theroot of the A7 is a fifth above the root of the Dm7. Harmonically, going from A7 to a Dchord creates tonal movement even though Dm7 is not the tonic chord of the progres-sion.

Secondary Dominant

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� Cmaj7 Dm7 G7

� CCmmaajj77 DDmm77AA77 GG77

#1

#2

� Cmaj77 DDm77A77Em77 G77#3 Original Chord

Moving clockwise around the circle,

each highlighted note is a fifth above

the previous one. This allows you to find

a secondary dominant to proceed any

non-dominant chord in a progression.

The Circle of Fifths show the root

of the secondary dominant chord

that can proceed any chord.

The resulting chord will not

belong to the original key but its

harmonic relationship with the fol-

lowing chord makes it work.

You can even put a secondary

dominant chord in front of a pri-

mary dominant. It all depends on

what kind of movement you want

to create.

25

When backcycling, you are always looking oneor two chord changes ahead and thinking whatchord gets you the target chord. Since the Bm7-

Em7-A7 combination is a iv-ii-V chord pro-gression in the key of D Major, it is

arguably a key change from the origi-nal C Major. You can feel the tonal

center begin to shift when you playthe Bm7 after the Cmaj7. By thetime you are at the A7, the tonalcenter shifts to D and you arenow in the key of D Major antic-ipating a D Major chord that willresolve the tension of the domi-nant chord A7.

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BackcylingAnother technique for creating harmonic movement is known as backcycling. This tech-nique is used often in jazz but can work in any musical genre. In backcycling you areshifting the tonal center temporarily by creating what amounts to a mini chord progres-sion. It becomes a progression within a progression.

This technique is similar to adding a secondary dominant but in this case you will addchords in front of the added dominant chord. The chords you add this way have rootsthat follow the Circle of Fifths sequence.

To enter a backcycled mini progression you identify the chord that is to be your targetchord. This can be any chord of your progression. The root of your target chord willbecome the tonal center of the chords you add in front of it.

If we start with our original progression (line #1 above) and choose Dm7 as our targetchord, the resulting chord progression could look something like this.

Backcycled Chords

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Backcycling is used to identify chords that can be

added to a chord progression to give it more

tonal movement.

Target Chord

26

Finding the Tonal CenterWe have come full circle in our discussion of the Circle of Fifths. At the begin-ning of this book we started talking about finding the tonal center of asong. The Circle of Fifths is useful tool for this when you are look-ing at sheet music. Naturally, the key signature gives you agood idea of what the tonal center might be, but if the musicchanges key, the circle can help you discover what the key(and thus the tonal center) has shifted to.

The presence of a dominant chord often determinesthe tonal center. Since a dominant chord almostalways revolves to the tonic chord, you can identifythe dominant chord by refering to the Circle of Fifths.

To find the center, identify the root of the dominantchord. Find it on the circle and move along counter-clockwise one note (large red note that is). This notewill probably be the tonal center. For instance, if a D7appears in a piece of music, find the D on the circle,then move counter-clockwise one note. The result is theroot of the tonic chord (the tonal center). If D7 is the domi-nant chord, the tonic chord might be G, G6, Gmaj7, etc.

This tonic root will act as the tonal center until other chords are intro-duced that don’t belong to the scale implied by this root. As always, there areexceptions to this rule. For instance, a dominant chord could resolve to the vi (the sixchord) as well. For instance, a D7 chord could be followed by an Em (the vi chord in thekey of G Major). In this case, your tonal center is at E, meaning you might be in the keyof E Minor. The key of E Minor shares the same key signature as G Major. At any rate,when you see a dominant chord followed by a major chord whose root is the next notecounter-clockwise on the Circle of Fifths, you can be pretty sure that you have found thetonal center.

Normally our ear anticipates the resolving sound of the major chord following a domi-nant chord. However, composers use our natural anticipation to surprise us. In theexample in line #3, the Dm7 following the A7 creates bit of a surprise. The Dm7 feelsmore like a deflection to the tonal movement and sets up a shift back to the key of C.

If you don’t hear the subtleties of the chord changes, don’t worry. This means your earis not yet accustom to what is “normal” when it comes to chord progressions. If youpractice the progressions described in the previous section, your ear will start to have abetter sense of tonal movement.

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27

Conclusion

The Circle of Fifths is nothing if it can’t help you play your instrument better. Too oftenonly the mere basics of this amazing Circle are presented. As a result, its meaning andrelevance to real musicians is diminished. When the Circle is used to show the naturalpatterns of music, the musician can better understand how music works.

The Lotus Music Circle ofFifths shows musical pat-terns that every musicianshould know. It begins withthe fundamentals of tonal-ity and shows how thosefundamentals relate toscales, chords, and chordprogressions.

Music is at its best when itevokes emotion from boththe musician and the lis-tener. Understanding thefundamentals that appearin the Circle is perhaps thesingle surest way toachieve that end.

Practice is essential to anymusic mastery, but whenmusical knowledge is com-bined with practice, youare assured levels of musi-cal success unavailable toothers.

When your goal is to create art that touches people’s deepest feelings you need totransform yourself first into an artist who is wholly aware of the many ways music cando that. The Circle of Fifths is the gate through which you can enter and begin gainingthe awareness you need to be a complete artist and musician.

Once you have the awareness and the skill, your success as a musician is directlylinked to your willingness to share who and what you are with others. Achievement inthis creative endeavor is worth every bit of time spent practicing and absorbing the pat-terns revealed by the Circle of Fifths. It is a journey of great transformation that yieldsenormous satisfaction. You will never regret it.

28

Back-cycling Inserting chords to create a cadence. Cadence A succession of chords that create harmonic movement.Chord A combination of notes played simultaneously.Chord family A group of chords that share similar harmonic characteristics.Chord melody A succession of chords with the melody as the top note of each chord.Chord sheet Sheet music showing only the chords.Circle of Fifths A diagram showing notes separated by 4th and 5th intervals.Chromatic Scale The 12-note scale that contains all possible notes.Common time The 4/4 time signature.Cut time The 2/2 time signature.Diatonic Belonging to and/or compatible with the Diatonic scale. Diatonic scale The seven-note scale also known as the Major scale.Diminished An interval of three whole steps. A chord containing a <5th interval.Dissonant The sound of disharmonious tones.Dominant The fifth degree of the Diatonic scale. A chord built on the fifth degree.Enharmonic A tone that has two names, e.g. A> and B<.Extended chord A chord with notes added beyond the first octave.Flat five (nine, thirteen) An interval a half-step below a perfect fifth (9th, 13th).Frequency The rate of vibration of a tone that gives it its pitch.Half-diminished A diminished triad chord with a minor seventh added. Half-step The smallest unit of interval measure. A semitone.Harmonic minor scale The minor scale with a <3rd between its 6th and 7th degree.Harmonic movement The feeling of movement created by changing tones.Harmony The effect of simultaneously sounded notes. Interval The tonal distance between notes.Inversion A chord with a note other than the root note in the bass.Key The tonal center of a musical composition.Key signature The notation indicating the tonal center of a musical composition.Lead sheet Sheet music showing only the melody and chords, sometimes the lyrics.Leading tone The note that is a half-step below the tonic note.Major The interval of two whole-steps. A chord whose second note is a major 3rd.Measure The compositional unit that organizes notes on a musical staff.Mediant The third degree of the Diatonic scale.Melodic minor scale The minor scale with a perfect 6th and major 7th interval.Melody Notes played to a rhythm.Minor The interval of three half-steps. A chord whose second note is a minor 3rd.Mode A scale based on the notes of another scale with a different note as the tonic.Modulation A key change in a musical composition.

Glossary of Terms

29

Natural Minor Scale The scale name given to the sixth mode of the Major scale. Note A tone with a specific frequency.Octave The interval of six whole-steps. Parallel minor A minor scale and a major scale that share the same tonic note.Passing tones (notes) A tone or note between two melody notes.Perfect Interval The intervals of 3-1/2 (4th) and 4-1/2 (5th) semitones.Pitch The frequency of a tone giving it its highness or lowness.Pivot chord modulation A technique for changing keys using a shared chord.Primary chords The I, IV, V chords of a Major key.Relative minor A scale based on the sixth degree of the corresponding Major scale.Resolution The end of cadence that creates a feeling of completion.Root The foundational note of a chord. Scale A successive arrangement of notes derived from the Chromatic scale.Scale degree A name given to a note of a scale based on its position in that scale.Secondary chords The ii (IIm), iii (IIIm), and vi (VIm) chords of a Major key.Secondary dominant A dominant chord not belonging to the key. Sharp five (nine, thirteen) An interval a half-step above a perfect fifth (9th, 13th).Solar harmony Organizing harmony around a tonal center.Solmization A system for naming notes according to their position in a scale. Staff The compositional notation using lines to indicate notes and pitch.Subdominant Fourth degree of the Major scale. A chord built on the fourth degree.Submediant The sixth degree of the Major scale. A chord built on the sixth degree.Suspended The fourth degree of the Major scale raised a half step. Supertonic Second degree of the Major scale. A chord built on the second degree.Time Signature The compositional notation indicating the meter of a song.Tonal Center The harmonic foundation of a song, often the same as a song’s key.Tonic The first degree of a scale. Transposition Translating notes of one key to another. Triad A three-note chord.Tritone The interval of three whole-steps. A <5th interval.Tritone substitution Substituting a dominant chord with one a <5 higher. Voice leading How notes of one chord lead to the notes of the following chord.Whole-step The interval of two half-steps.Whole-tone scale The six-note scale consisting of whole-steps between its notes.

30

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