The Circle of Fifths

The Circle of Fifths can be used for many different tasks in music. To change the key you are focusing on, simply rotate the letters until the key you are interested in is at the top. There will soon be a graphical app that will allow you to do this interactively on this site. But until then, you will need to use your imagination or a bit of paper. If you are using the circle for a specific task like figuring out the modes or chords in a key (see links at the bottom of this article) then be sure to rotate the letters alone, but not the other labels, i.e. the mode names or chord flavours (major, minor or diminished)

The circle of fifths is an ingenious method of organising the different keys into an arrangement that makes them easier to remember.

Check out this incredibly interesting web page on the circle of fifths and some of the useful patterns you can find.

The homepage of the same site gives you a great introduction into the physics of music and the vibration of strings. This is where music, maths and science are really related. You can begin to understand why certain things sound "musical". But as to what stirs emotion and makes music interesting, this takes the artistic flair of a songwriter or genius of a true composer.

The theory of music, including the circle of fifths applies to all musical instruments and musicians that are interested in understanding it, not least of all guitarists. "Hey Joe" by Hendrix was based around the first 5 chords of the circle of fifths. He started in C, but you can start anywhere and you will have simply transposed the song.

The composer Chopin also based many of his progressions around the circle of fifths, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest.

More articles on the Circle of Fifths:

The Interactive Circle of Fifths
Using the Circle of Fifths for finding notes in a scale
Using the Circle of Fifths for finding chords in a key
Using the Circle of Fifths for finding modes in a key

Back to Stages of Mastering the Guitar