The Circle of Fifths_ Music Theory for Dummies _ Lessons @ Ultimate-Guitar

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The Circle Of Fifths: Music Theory For Dummies, date: july 21, 2004

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The Circle Of Fifths: Music Theory For Dummiesauthor: Peacemkr date: 07/21/2004 category: the basics

A lot of gutar players tend to think that learning any sort of musictheory is a waste of time and they would rather just play what

they "feel". These types of people have a good point, becauseplaying what you feel will make you a great guitar player. Theplace where music theory and more specifically knowledge of the Circle of Fifths can helpyou as a guitarist is when you get stuck trying to write a song or stuck trying to figure asong out by ear. The Circle of Fifths can help you easily construct hundreds of ChordProgressions, Lead Lines, Harmonies, and just about anything else once you get the hang ofit. Alright, so here's the Circle Of Fifths:

C

F G

Bb D

Eb A

Ab E

Db B

Gb

Take a sec ond, start with C and go around the Circle of Fifths and say each note out loudor say it in your head. Now if you look at it again you will notice that since there are twelvenotes, they are arranged in the exact same position that the numbers on a clock would bearranged. (Go ahead and look yourself to verify that). This is every single note on theguitar arranged into a circle. The Circle of Fifths is to music as the periodic table of elements is to chemistry. No musician should be without it. So pay attention.

The Circle of Fifths is very simple to make. Start with C, then place the Fifth of C (which isG) Clockwise of it. Then start with G, and place the Fifth of G (which is D) Clockwise of that. And so on and so on. Here is a list of Notes and their fifths starting with C.

Fifths:

C - - - G

G - - - D

D - - - A

A - - - E

B - - - Gb

Gb - - - Db

Db - - - Ab

Search!

8/14/2010 he Circle Of Fifths: Music Theory For …

ultimate-guitar.com/…/the_circle_of_fif… 1/



Eb - - - Bb

Bb - - - F

F - - - C

C - - - G

The pattern that this list makes is the c ircle of fifths. Notice how it repeats itself and goesback to the C - G interval at the end. That's why its a c ircle. Anyway, you're probablywondering how this is helpful at all, but I plan to show you. If you take a chord progression,let's say C major to F major.

C*

F* G

Bb D

Eb A

Ab E

Db B

Gb

Now, let's say you want to transpose that to A. So you want the same exact same

sounding chord progression you just want it in A instead of C. Since F is in the position thatis one turn counter clockwise of C, then all you have to do is go to A, and then go one turncounter c lockwise to D.

C

F G

Bb D*

Eb A*

Ab E

Db B

Gb

The Chord Progression going from A major to D major is the same as going from C major to Fmajor. Try it and you will see what I mean. Although the notes/pitches are different, youget the same feeling going from any major chord to the chord exactly one turn CounterClockwise on the Circle of Fifths.

Try it for D.

C

F G*

Bb D*

Eb A

Ab E

Db B

Gb

Try it for G.

C*

F G*

Bb D

Eb A





Ab E

Db B

Gb

Here's the kicker. The feeling you get from any one specific chord progression, like goingfrom C major to F major can be replicated in any other key very easily using the Circle of Fifths. So if you are in a strange starting place like Db major, however you want the kind of feeling you get when you go from C major to F major. Go to the Circle of Fifths and go one

turn Counter Clockwise of Db (which is Ab)

C

F G

Bb D

Eb A

Ab E

Db* B

Gb*

If the secret to playing is knowing how to play with feeling. Then it is certainly good toknow twelve different ways to make the same sounding chord progression. So the secret tochord progressions is not exactly which chords you use, but instead its about theirrelationship between one another on the Circle of Fifths. Everytime you start with any of the twelve major chords and then go one turn Counter Clockwise on the Circle of Fifths youwill get the same sounding Chord Progression. Now if you go Two Turns Counter Clockwiseeverytime you have another twelve chord progressions that give you the same feeling.Same for Three, Four, Five, Six... etc.

Going Clockwise around the circle works the same as going counter clockwise. Justremember that One Turn Clockwise is NOT the same as One Turn Counter Clockwise. Try itand you'll see.

C

F G

Bb D

Eb A

Ab E

Db B

Gb

The Circle of Fifths does not just give you information about types of Major ChordProgressions. It can be used to give you information for Every Type of Chord Progression.Whether you want Minor to Major, Seventh to Major, Minor to Minor, Major Ninth to FlattedSeventh. It works for Scales as well! Let's look at the pattern made by sec lecting thenotes of the C Major Pentatonic (C, D, E, G, A) on the Circle of Fifths.

C*

F G*

Bb D*

Eb A*

Ab E*





Db B

Gb

Now make that same pattern starting with G.

C

F G*

Bb D*

Eb A*

Ab E*

Db B*

Gb

These are the notes in the G Major Pentatonic Scale (G,A,B,D,E).

Try it for F.

C*F* G*

Bb D*

Eb A*

Ab E

Db B

Gb

And that's the F Major Pentatonic Scale (F,G,A,C,D).

Try somethin a little exotic like Ab.

C

F* G

Bb* D

Eb* A

Ab* E

Db B

Gb

And that is how you make the Ab Major Pentatonic Scale (Ab, Bb, C, Eb, F). There arehundreds of patterns and relationships locked into the Circle of Fifths, and you're knowledgeof how to use it c an greatly reduce the amount of t ime you waste searching every fret forthe notes you need. If you understand what I just said, hopefully I explained it coherenty.Then you already know more about music theory, then any person out there that usescomplicated formulas and naming schemes to explain the phenomena. Some folks wouldhave you spend hours memorizing all kinds of different information to learn Music Theory,when all you really need to have is the Twelve Note arrangement of the Circle of Fifths,and a Third Graders ability to recognize patterns. From there you can figure out and doanything you want.

If you don't know the notes on the guitar it may be helpful to write out a chart or print one





comments policy

out so that you can use the Circle of Fifths more effectively. If you're having troubl. Re-read this article and makes sure that you're going the right way around the circle,Clockwise or Counter Clockwiseas needed.

POSTED: 07/21/2004 - 03:07 am print share

176 comments posted

Benesyed :

Im soo confused. But im sure other people will get it !

First!!!POSTED: 07/22/2004 - 07:13 pm / quote |

Spl!nTeRgu!tAr :

gr8 dude...love it2nd!!

POSTED: 07/24/2004 - 03:10 pm / quote |

FooDog007 :

pretty simple and pretty informative...thank God music theory isn't as hard as it sounds!

POSTED: 07/28/2004 - 10:14 pm / quote |

The^Unforgiven :

I don't get it.

POSTED: 07/30/2004 - 09:31 am / quote |

The^Unforgiven :

Or i do get it in a away, but I don't see how it will turn out to be useful. In a word I think it's futile.

POSTED: 07/30/2004 - 09:32 am / quote |

David_hdb :

i really dont understand

POSTED: 07/31/2004 - 05:50 pm / quote |

troutBoy :

i dnt understand either :S o well

POSTED: 08/02/2004 - 01:40 pm / quote |

Danny7 :

I think you should have this edited so that the circles look like actual circles.. as opposed to tubes.POSTED: 08/02/2004 - 08:28 pm / quote |

zeppelin420 :

how could anyone NOT get it... but yeah you should make the circle look more like a circle. I'd beinterested to see anymore lessons you could put out regarding easy to learn music theory.

POSTED: 08/03/2004 - 08:55 pm / quote |

slash_andrew :

i cant get it..

POSTED: 08/04/2004 - 11:39 pm / quote |

Itsallgood_forn :

I think it could be useful...but how would you ever "get the hang of it"...

POSTED: 08/08/2004 - 02:03 am / quote |

ragex :

It's very confusing and i sort of get it, but in time i think that it will make more sense. Great lesson though

POSTED: 08/12/2004 - 03:29 pm / quote |

nacho420 :

Good lesson.

POSTED: 08/12/2004 - 06:19 pm / quote |

And2001PT :

I thought it was Cycle of Fifths...Anyway, great lesson

POSTED: 08/16/2004 - 10:25 am / quote |

subscribe to





dogsballs :

Although the notes/pitches are different, you get the same feeling going from any major chord to thechord exactly one turn Counter C lockwise on the Circle of Fifths.I REALLY DONT UNDERSTAND WOT YOU MEAN THERE DUDE.

POSTED: 08/20/2004 - 08:00 am / quote |

dogsballs :

totally awesome lesson dude! i dont understand it though. do you mean the Bb,F,C,B etc are played asnotes or chords? if u mean play the chords then ok i mite be able to play around with them and learnsomething. Do you mean so if im righting a song with Eb i shuld go to Ab if i would otherwise have gone toBb.

POSTED: 08/20/2004 - 07:58 am / quote |

isaluteu :

good lesson ;

POSTED: 08/21/2004 - 02:40 pm / quote |

aadi :

good lesson ..... .. thank god its free :P

POSTED: 08/24/2004 - 11:16 am / quote |

Paintedblue :

I have just recently learned about this in my guitar bible and was going to make a lesson to post. Butseeing as you beat me to it i have to congradulate you on a job well done. It is kinda confusing but youget the hang of it.

POSTED: 08/25/2004 - 04:40 am / quote |

frenchie :

GREAT lesson and very simple to understand. That?s theory the way I like it?applicable and practical.However could you extrapolate a bit more and tell us things such as why would one go clockwise orcounterclockwise, what is the deciding factor?Also I didn?t understand the part about going around the chart several times. How would it give youdifferent ways of getting same sounding chords? Did you simply meant that the pattern was repeated oneoctave higher?Any input would be welcome.

POSTED: 08/27/2004 - 05:13 pm / quote |

BHD :

OMG that was so easy to understand! It took me ages to get through it all but I've learnt SO MUCH!!!!!! =]

-BHD

POSTED: 08/29/2004 - 05:51 pm / quote |

Click You :

WOAH BHD settle down spaz.... i like my clock with numbers ;

POSTED: 08/31/2004 - 03:12 am / quote |

nukenote :

Here's the kicker. The feeling you get from any one specific chord progression, like going from C majorto F major can be replicated in any other key very easily using the Circle of Fifths. So if you are in astrange starting place like Db major, however you want the kind of feeling you get when you go from Cmajor to F major.

Go to the Circle of Fifths and go one turn Counter Clockwise of Db (which is Ab)

PEACEMKR::: i thins the Ab should be a Gb, in this section of your lesson, shouldn't it. I have not finishedthis lesson, but just got this far. The example you use is as you know, going for the root chord to thefourth chord. You can go backward on the circle of fifths as you describe, or go forward up the musicalscale to the fourth position up from whatever root you are choosing. Maybe this will make it a little easierfor some to understand. Good lesson so far.

POSTED: 08/31/2004 - 11:18 pm / quote |

nukenote :

The Circ le of Fifths does not just give you information about types of Major C hord Progressions. It canbe used to give you information for Every Type of Chord Progression. Whether you want Minor to Major,Seventh to Major, Minor to Minor, Major Ninth to Flatted Seventh. It works for Scales as well! Let's lookat the pattern made by seclecting the notes of the C Major Pentatonic (C,D,E,G,A) on the Circle of Fifths.





peacemkr::::Darn nice trick on that pentatonic scale. I did not realize that. I am actually a Trumper player by musicaleducation, (not professional) and have learned these basic concepts by memorizing the notes to everymajor and harmonic, melodic minor scale. Going up a fourth, or third, or fifth in any key requires no moreto me that just thinking of the scale. The whole pentatonic thing is new to me when i began to learn bassand guitar. I like this trick on your (oops, pardon me, everyones) circle of fifths even though I can thinkthe same thing through be just thinking through the notes of each scale. Good lesson, you obviously havea good background, and I apologize for not reading it yet. thanks, dws

POSTED: 08/31/2004 - 11:29 pm / quote |

all_or_none :

erm... circle?

POSTED: 09/01/2004 - 02:59 am/

quote |

nukenote :

well, trumpet is actually spelled with an t , not like i posted. Hard to get all the letters correct when you arelying down on the bed. ..nukenote

POSTED: 09/01/2004 - 11:36 pm / quote |

nukenote :

i give up, "a" t

POSTED: 09/01/2004 - 11:37 pm / quote |

bassist90 :

dude, i don't even play guitar and i think that was awesome...i'll have to show that to our guitarist,nice jobw00t d00t

POSTED: 09/11/2004 - 12:04 am / quote |

Drock47 :

w00t d00t?

POSTED: 09/12/2004 - 09:38 am / quote |

semus :

umm.. i dont get it

POSTED: 09/19/2004 - 04:54 pm / quote |

joeye487 :

great lesson...music theory at it's simplesy ladies and gentle men.

POSTED: 09/19/2004 - 11:51 pm / quote |

slash_620 :

check out zentao.com its got this lesson only better explainedPOSTED: 09/22/2004 - 04:19 pm / quote |

SilentDeftone m :

You didn't explain how each key has a certain number of flats and sharps. That's the whole point behindthe Circle IMO. 1 star!

POSTED: 10/24/2004 - 04:43 pm / quote |

box_car_racer51 :

...what...?

POSTED: 11/02/2004 - 07:53 pm / quote |

dude im 11 :

?your confusing!

POSTED: 11/06/2004 - 04:38 pm / quote |

rearFender :

Awesome lesson; missing a few stuff but I've learned a little bit of what I need.rF

POSTED: 11/11/2004 - 09:36 am / quote |

Iboseth :

Wow! Thanks!

POSTED: 11/14/2004 - 11:45 am / quote |

bengi :

decent article, though you didn't touch on flats or sharps in the keys, i congragulate you on youre vallienteffort.

POSTED: 11/16/2004 - 12:51 pm / quote |





dude im 11 :

yay im the 41st to comment only im not bc u are hella confusing

POSTED: 11/22/2004 - 08:00 pm / quote |

dude im 11 :

lol srry

POSTED: 11/22/2004 - 08:01 pm / quote |

Corwinoid :

SilentDeftone--The number of flats/sharps in a given key, mode, or sca le is a side effect of it's beginning interval and

chromatic relationship to the ionian scale, and is completely incidental to it's 'position' on the circ le of fifths. Denegrating this post because it fails to conform to your opinion of what matters is... rude, at theleast.

This is a difficult subject to fully grasp without a good understanding of intervalic relationships, and I thinkI see where people are confused. It helps, when working with he circle of fifths/circle of fourths to notthink about specifcic keys.

What's important is to remember that moving clockwise, each position advances by a 'fifth' until you returnto the root position (I). Any 'motion' along the circle will retain a particular 'feeling' when moved to anotheposition. The simplest of these is to move one position clockwise, at a time. You get the basic progressionI-V-II-VI (For those who already understand what I'm talking about, I chose not to use the diatonic ii andvi because alterations can be applied, or chosen, as they occur).

POSTED: 11/27/2004 - 01:09 pm / quote |

Corwinoid :

When viewed in the key of C , for instance, this progression would take the form C-G-Dm-Am. Whenviewed in the key of A, it would be A-E-Bm-F#m. What's important is that both progressions have thesame fee ling when heard, though they're in distinctly different keys. (Melodies so transposed will alsomaintain their feeling).

This holds true for any 'movement' a progression makes along the circle of fifths. For instance, whileyou're expirmenting you may come across a particular motion (chord change) that has a particular feelingyou'd like to maintain, however it doesn't fit your progression. The circle of fifths can act as a guide formaking this series of chords fit your progression, OR it can act as a guide for moving this motion into thenatural key of the progression, while maintaining the feeling of the original motion.

Again, a good understanding of intervals is needed to firmly grasp the subject, if I didn't help clarify pleaselet me know. Also, for more information I'd recommend "The Guiter Grimoire -- Progressions & Improvisation" by Adam Kadmon [Carl Fischer, 0-8258-3197-0], which gives an in-depth, theoreticallycomplete, explaination of progressions and how they fit the circle of fifths, including alterations (why andhow they apply), as it pertains to western music and jazz (IMO the most theoretically progressive (NPI)style of music), and how the inverse motions apply. I don't feel the need, unless asked, to go into thatright now.

POSTED: 11/27/2004 - 01:10 pm / quote |

Corwinoid :

However, to clarify for frenchie: The circle of fifths is so named because each clockwise motion advancesby an interval of a 'fifth' (7 semi-tones). When moving counter-clockwise (or in reverse), a motion is it'sintervalic inversion. For each step moved counter-clockwise you move backwards by an interval of a'fourth' (5 semi-tones). This means when you are moving, chromatically, a fourth (instead of a fifth),however a fourth is the intervallic inversion of a fifth, meaning that you are moving, intervallically, 'down'a fifth, instead of up a fifth. Generally, in western music, chord progressions have certain "natural"movements, caused by acoustic resonance, chordal dissonance/resolution, blah blah blah (these aremostly caused by the harmonic training of the year at younger ages, and are quite regional... while I'm offon a tangent here, this is why most of you don't like chinese opera, and other eastern forms of music).While not displeasing to the ear, the motion to the fourth in one of the major modes is, most commonly, adissonant effect in western music, and is not common to the ear. So, when do you decide to moveclockwise or counterclockwise? Ultimately that decisions up to you, and quite honestly nothing in theorysays you have to do either. Lateral motions, even, are common in progressive music, and some jazz, and

make for some interesting tonality experiments as well. In the end it's about what sounds good to you.The end result, is that when you are moving clockwise you are progressing through a key from the rootchord (more or less), and when you move counterclcockwise you are moving continually 'towards' the rootof the key (whether or not the is ever ultimately resolved is again, a complete matter of taste).

Hope I helped,-- C

POSTED: 11/27/2004 - 01:12 pm / quote |

dwnbowden :

i kinda get it but im sure itdoesnt make a circl sombody help plz

POSTED: 01/08/2005 - 07:14 pm / quote |

Guitarist9 :

I don't why people always want to be the first to comment it's very weird to me. and C ircle Of Fifths





sounds like some gothic ritual.

POSTED: 01/15/2005 - 08:34 pm / quote |

musicgoddess :

Sorry the above should have read 'it includes the scales in a circle diagram which is most handy' and not'chords' as I wrote above. Also I agree with nukenote that the Ab should be a F#/Gb...blimey, I feel like Iknow what I'm talking about, this circle is magic!

POSTED: 01/17/2005 - 12:19 pm / quote |

musicgoddess :

I didn't get it when I first read this. Then I went to the lessons at zentao.com as someone kindly suggestedand read through their explanation, it includes the chords in a circle diagram which is most handy! Find it

at http://www.zentao.com/guitar/theory/. It explains the fifths more clearly but doesn't explain aboutusing the circle for transposing as well as this posting. So after reading that, come back to this explanationand all will become clear and you'll see the light and that it isn't as confusing as it first seems. Have fun.

POSTED: 01/17/2005 - 12:08 pm / quote |

The Fiddler :

for everyone who thinks this is useless...you are NOT a musician. music is not justin playing cool songs,it's understanding music and the "feel" of music.

POSTED: 01/22/2005 - 07:28 pm / quote |

afootincoldwate :

musicgoddess i think u meant neither...u meant 'keys' didn't u?corwinoid, thats some brilliant explanation you gave. but i think a lesson on scale tones and related chordswould help before coming here. maybe it should be included with this lesson. great article though.

POSTED: 01/31/2005 - 12:10 pm / quote |

SkaterD2002 :

uhhh

POSTED: 03/06/2005 - 01:10 am / quote |

ramonesfan :

i dont get it either...

POSTED: 03/07/2005 - 09:02 pm / quote |

futurehendrix07 :

Great article. I don't really see how anyone couldn't get it..But for those of you who don't: Take a piece of paper and draw the fifths of C in your own diagram (you can get it more circular since Peacemkr's didn'tcome out to look like a circle). That helped me a lot.

POSTED: 03/25/2005 - 01:39 am / quote |

VR05 :

thats really easy and im glad that u explained that ans cleared it all up for me

POSTED: 04/13/2005 - 05:23 pm / quote |

RAplayingmantis :

sicky sicky that was cool it took alittle while for me to get it being a beginner and all but its all makingsence shouldnt i be paying for this shit!!!

thanks guy

POSTED: 06/01/2005 - 08:56 am / quote |

levi's :

type "circle of fifths" into google picture search, print it out and reread the lesson. it's much easier thatway

POSTED: 07/05/2005 - 12:44 pm / quote |

MightyMilly :

thanks mr peacemkr!

POSTED: 07/28/2005 - 09:02 am / quote |

john_t_09 :

duhhh.. its a rere article its common since

POSTED: 08/04/2005 - 12:07 pm / quote |

spazzymagee :

dude this is an exceptional lesson, you've improved my Music Theory knowledge knowledge 10 fold, withthis lesson it enables you to develop your own melodies and riffs in various keys. Thanks

POSTED: 08/07/2005 - 11:52 am / quote |





stapler :

I got some of it. If I read it more I will.

POSTED: 08/28/2005 - 03:37 pm / quote |

gary19862k6 :

its no confusing at all... only thing im confused about is how all you people dont understand it, and to all uppl who think they shuld look more like circles, WHO CARES? its still set in a way so u can see wot orderthey go in.

POSTED: 10/03/2005 - 06:59 pm / quote |

benwahballs :

someone already mentioned this but... in the lesson it saidGo to the Circle of Fifths and go one turn Counter Clockwise of Db (which is Ab)

its not Ab its Gb. thats when i gave up on trying to understand this one

POSTED: 10/29/2005 - 11:59 am / quote |

recklessftw :

I think that was a great article. I also like the trick with the pentatonic notes, I didn't know that one.Someone also asked how you know what sharps/flats are in the scales and I'd like to put in what reallyhelped me.Father C harles Goes Down And End Battle. you take the first letter of each word and that's the order of sharps you add to your scale... so if you look on the circle of 5ths at G (5th above C), that G scale willhave 1 sharp being F(Father). Same with D, it's two places from C on the circle so it's got two sharps;F(father), C(Charles). Keep going until you reach the 6 o'clock position. Then you get into flats... you start

from the top of the circle (C) and go backwards with the saying: Battle Ends And Down Goes C harles'Father. So the first 5th BELOW C(counter clockwise from the top) is F. One place from the top of the circlein a counter clockwise position means one flat, B(Battle). I think you can figure out the rest... that's justsomething that really helps me out.

POSTED: 11/08/2005 - 11:32 am / quote |

Panman :

I think this website is great. The circle of fifths is a great way to understand music theory. But learning toplay music on an instrument that is solid circle of fifths is just awesome,The tenor steelpan invented in Trinidad in the late 1930s and brought to perfection later on is the onlymusical instrument that takes the design of the circle of fourths and fifths. Play Pan!!!!

Panman

POSTED: 11/30/2005 - 10:21 am / quote |

Gosman :

Im so ****ing confused..POSTED: 12/07/2005 - 04:16 pm / quote |

Muzz_Punk :

you contridicted yourself in the beginning

POSTED: 12/23/2005 - 07:41 pm / quote |

ouchies :

This helped me a lot !

It's a lot easier to understand then other articles on the circle of fifths.

POSTED: 01/23/2006 - 05:55 pm / quote |

dixieguitarist :

ummm... how about explaining what fifths are first. i think that would be a good starting place. but it wouldbe a good lesson though!

POSTED: 01/30/2006 - 01:27 pm / quote |

oily_stage :

good lesson, but i noticed these patterns through playing experience, wish i checked them out before,woulda explained alot early on

POSTED: 02/11/2006 - 08:33 am / quote |

Sabra :

Wow, this was really neat! I took music theory years ago and had to memorize the circle of fifths, yetnever understood what to do with it! The written part of theory never rea lly mand much sense (I couldanalyze Bach and Mozart, but why?) and I think that is partly due to my first instrument being violin (andthen voice) as opposed to piano or guitar where one grasps chords and such. I still rely on doing mostthings by ear even now and this will help me tremendously! What a revelation

POSTED: 02/21/2006 - 11:29 am / quote |





Sabra :

Oops, I meant to say written theory never "made" much sense.

POSTED: 02/21/2006 - 11:33 am / quote |

j.tilley :

i guess i need a lesson called " circle of fifths for extra-dense dummies"

POSTED: 02/22/2006 - 01:37 am / quote |

dixieguitarist :

Yes would someone please write this in english?POSTED: 02/23/2006 - 01:24 pm / quote |

Duce1973 :

I've read many books and was always confused with one part or another. This was complete and easy tounderstand, I now have a ll the pieces together.Thank you

POSTED: 03/05/2006 - 08:03 am / quote |

fingersofflame :

this is great...you really explain what the hell you are talking about in a clear and understandablefashion...good job man!

POSTED: 03/13/2006 - 10:38 am / quote |

deadhead0661 :

good lesson. its true that some things weren't covered but its cool, im starting to get it more now thanks.Oh yeah, it looks like Corwinoid has got his theory down pretty solid.

POSTED: 03/16/2006 - 05:22 pm / quote |

miguelito2729 :

ya..... I din't get that but thanks for the lesson ( wich I'm sure I'll understand someday ) anyways.

POSTED: 04/05/2006 - 09:35 pm / quote |

Ramones Nutter :

yeah that was pretty good - i sort of get it after half an hour. finally, i can make some sense of how ascale is made up. cheers

POSTED: 05/04/2006 - 11:17 am / quote |

Sadam :

Very good. Its very clear and understanding as long as you know very basic theory.Thanks for the info.

POSTED: 06/25/2006 - 07:20 am / quote |

Metatron :

I have no ****ing idea what the hell this is talking about. I am sooo confused.

POSTED: 07/10/2006 - 04:40 am / quote |

miguelito2729 :

Yeeeeesssss!!!!! Holy sh*t!!!!! After re-reading this lesson a 2nd I got it!!! Thank you sooooo much. Damnit feels good.

POSTED: 07/11/2006 - 02:43 am / quote |

guitarchickof06 :

i dont get it either, but im always confused

POSTED: 07/14/2006 - 09:37 am / quote |

Rory's_strat :

....85th comment....

I sorta get it and it helps alot once you do realise it ...Im only 12, lol...

POSTED: 07/17/2006 - 09:36 am / quote |

simonzwaan :

Guitarist9 wrote:

I don't why people always want to be the first to comment it's very weird to me. and C ircle Of Fifthssounds like some gothic ritual.





lol it doesi fisrt thought it said circle of filth

POSTED: 07/26/2006 - 06:49 pm / quote |

ClaudiosBoy :

that actually helped me

POSTED: 08/30/2006 - 10:09 pm / quote |

LosLobos :

I can completely see why this was confusing. having read this article a couple months ago, and reading itagain now makes me see it in a diffrent light. Im taking a music theory class, and we have not even usedthe circle in the ways mentioned. were using it to figure out the amount of flats and sharps in a given

scale.

so the circle is used so many diffrent ways that I dont see how it could be fully explained in a shortinternet article.

POSTED: 09/26/2006 - 08:45 pm / quote |

rebel_rocker89 :

XD some people just don't get it, huh? Well, if I sat down and seriously read this when I was sober, then itwould be no problem. Sounds like a good lesson though

POSTED: 10/08/2006 - 04:47 am / quote |

sTx :

Kind of hard to understand...Good job though.

POSTED: 10/14/2006 - 02:05 pm / quote |

davidson22 :

i dont get it at all wtf, do u have to know lots about notes,chord progression, and music theory in generalto be able to understand this or am i just an idiot?

POSTED: 10/22/2006 - 11:55 pm / quote |

Ronan514 :

Beside a few typos, this was really good and easy to understand...im glad somebody elaborated on thecircle of fifths because other music theory lessons on ug didnt really explain it at all

POSTED: 10/29/2006 - 06:08 pm / quote |

cheese141 :

this is great stuff. pretty easy to understand if you have a general idea about guitar. it took me somestudying to figure it out exactly, but now that i do, it helps a lot. thanks.

POSTED: 11/05/2006 - 02:47 pm / quote |

nightmare10999 :

Thank god someone is able to explain this theory crap in a way that is simple to understand.

POSTED: 11/08/2006 - 11:21 am / quote |

Chipman :

circle of fifths sounds like a drinking game to me

i am starting to understand the circle a bit more each time i read about it so i thought it was useful. if all of the information is not correct about the circle, atleast the way you USE it makes sense.

POSTED: 12/03/2006 - 04:30 pm / quote |

thelastmccabe :

This is the first time I've read something that explains WHY i should CARE about the circle of fifths. Thankyou!!!!!11

POSTED: 12/26/2006 - 02:35 am / quote |

godofthesunn :

I dont know if anyone mentioned this but a there was a slight error when you first gave the example of fifths

Ex E....B

You forgot too put that one in... And it threw me off alittle when I was trying to go through the lesson .Other than that you did a decent job...

POSTED: 01/11/2007 - 06:32 pm / quote |

Jacesdrm :

after reading all of the comments, i've gotten circles around my eyes! must be the fifth I consumed!

POSTED: 01/24/2007 - 01:51 pm / quote |





Texas90 :

wow that is alot better way to learn some theory!

POSTED: 03/08/2007 - 05:21 pm / quote |

Maggot66 :

So confused..

POSTED: 05/20/2007 - 01:01 pm / quote |

Night :

In your first example, of C>Ghow would that look on tab? a C would appear on the 8th fret of the low E string correct? and thenwhat

does it mean to make it to G? down to the 3rd fret?? is that the purpose?

i honeslty really dont get the use of it.. im so n00bish.. lol

POSTED: 05/30/2007 - 12:04 am / quote |

Night :

mm wait if you were to make a C note on the low E string.. that would make it on the 8th fret correct?then if you place a fifth above it (utilizing this C ircle of Fifths) you would place one of your other fingers onthe a string making a G note correct, or 10th fret , correct? giving you a powerchord?

A|--10-|E|---8-|

is this right??

is this what it means to place a fifth on a note too?

POSTED: 05/30/2007 - 12:08 am / quote |

dudetheman :

I completely get it! Finally!!!

Thank you soo much dude you're the best!!!

POSTED: 06/10/2007 - 12:03 am / quote |

blinkkink182 :

the relationship between the chords ahhhhh. i think i just understood music

POSTED: 06/25/2007 - 01:27 pm / quote |

souap :

I dont really think I understand this...

POSTED: 06/30/2007 - 08:37 am / quote |

conrad whiley :

why do a person need the circle of fifths? where does it come from and what makes it so important toknow?

POSTED: 07/11/2007 - 05:48 pm / quote |

k-dog_15 :

hey peacemkr, did you also know about the inner circle of fifths?

the inner circle of fifths tells what a key's relative minor is. you take a key and look 3 keys clockwise. thiskey is the relative minor.

your circle of fifths now looks like this.

C

F G

Bb D

Eb A

Ab E

Db BGb

POSTED: 08/03/2007 - 11:05 pm / quote |

k-dog_15 :

oops..like this







Picking a random key from the circle, lets use "Gb"Applying the map that we had for A-C-E, to "Gb" (our new root/key) we get Gb-A-Db. The MAIN THINGhere is not that your using another arpeggio or scale or anything else like that..ITS ABOUT TRANSPOSINGIT.. in other words...if you wanted it to SOUND the same but just at a higher or lower pitch. There areMANY derivatives from this circle, this is just one, BUT if you can retain this basic idea you have a greatstart.....The circle is made so that you can MANIPULATE changing of keys and roots or even just making aprogression sound good.....not be baffled by them.

POSTED: 09/24/2007 - 03:43 pm / quote |

Ttsg :

ooo... i finally got what you mean after reading 3 times! damn i'm dumb.. anyway, good lesson man!

POSTED: 10/07/2007 - 10:59 am / quote |

rgseifried :

Over my head... need to back up a few lessons and come back later...

POSTED: 10/08/2007 - 02:06 pm / quote |

metal-fury :

Corwinoid wrote:

.....The circle of fifths is so named because each clockwise motion advances by an interval of a 'fifth' (7semi-tones). -- C

Thanks for that, I was wondering what the 'fifth' was. - I thought it was just five places up the alphabet C

D E F G but that didn't sound much like musical theory to me!

Can anyone say why a fifth is 7 semitones?

Very interesting article, been playing for many years and have just started on theory.

POSTED: 10/18/2007 - 10:15 am / quote |

RedMoonMan :

Great job man, i needed a little refresher and this was the perfect thing..if i ever make it famous half thecredit goes to you.

POSTED: 10/28/2007 - 01:14 am / quote |

Legion182 :

i ****ing love you, bear my children. they will be worth alot one day.. thanks to you

POSTED: 10/28/2007 - 08:47 pm / quote |

Ultimate_Gio92 :

i get it now.. but its completely useless to me

POSTED: 11/02/2007 - 01:48 am / quote |

Led_Zeppelin_27 :

really great lesson, i just hate how much memorization goes into music theory, and for the people whodon't understand this, just re-read it, it isn't to difficult to understand

POSTED: 11/12/2007 - 08:24 am / quote |

delhan :

Okay I don't understand circle of fifths... could someone like send me a link to a visual lesson of the circleof fifths because I kinda get it but I still don't quite understand cuz I get confused on this stuff... it may notbe hard to understand for you others who have had lessons from teachers or followed many lessons butI'm not really familiar with this stuff... I learned everything I know on my own and I wanted to enhance

my knowledge by reading some lessons... I still don't get this stuff... so help me... PLEEAASSSEEE....POSTED: 11/13/2007 - 05:58 am / quote |

Long Pete :

Finally ! now i understand the circle of fifths. Amazing job man. thanks

POSTED: 11/22/2007 - 02:24 pm / quote |

gatkins2004 :

Great stuff, just one mistake though where you say " Go to the C ircle of Fifths and go one turn CounterClockwise of Db (which is Ab)"Cheers,Gary

POSTED: 11/23/2007 - 12:35 pm / quote |

Tzao :





If you do not understand the circle of fifths, stare at it. If you still don't understand, then go do somethingmore useful with your life. The world has enough awful musicians as is.

POSTED: 11/30/2007 - 04:03 pm / quote |

itsxsteves :

great jobperfect10 stars XD

POSTED: 12/10/2007 - 10:41 pm / quote |

hero118 :

i'm so ****ed with my music GCSE! i need to compose a 32 bar intrumental peice (no lyrics) in binary

form (AB, two sections) and there needs to be a key change to part the sections! i pla the piano but imreally stuck and need some help! can anyone help me? if you think you can, i mean im open to anysuggestions just email me at [email protected] please help me!

POSTED: 12/27/2007 - 03:04 pm / quote |

speedthrasher :

HEY THS IS GOOD..... I GET IT..... GOOD JOB..... THIS IS REALLY HELPING ME..... THANKS.....

POSTED: 01/10/2008 - 08:12 pm / quote |

moptopguitar :

wait.....so ervry song is written using the circle of fifths?

POSTED: 01/23/2008 - 12:51 pm / quote |

dchenex :

awesome lesson that is as easy as music theory gets.one thing to add if your in the key of lets say C then to find the major/minor/diminished chords of that keyyou look at the table of fifths and look at the right and left of it you find the 2 major chords other than C.so if it is in the key of C then the 2 other major chords in that key is F and G and then to find the minorchords in that key you look to the right of the G in this case. the 3 chords right next to it are D A and E sothey are minor in that key. and to find the diminished chord look one more to the right which would be B.so it would look like this C Dm Em F G Am Bdim

POSTED: 01/26/2008 - 04:21 pm / quote |

dchenex :

the comment i posted explained that too fast i think so sorry. and btw im just 13 and i started probablylast summer

POSTED: 01/26/2008 - 04:23 pm / quote |

Angel Of Sin :

I think next time you should include some examples in TAB that a person could play, maybe that may be

the reason why everyone is so confused..POSTED: 01/29/2008 - 11:19 pm / quote |

ggiles :

Oh boy ... from the following site.....

http://www.howmusicreallyworks.com/Pages_Chapte r_6/6_7.html

For generations, students, songwriters, and even music teachers, unaware of the harmonic scale and howit works, have used the Circle of Fifths as a crude harmony- organizing tool.

Big mistake.

If you treat the key names in the C ircle of Fifths as chord names and proceed around the Circle of Fifthscounterclockwise, you get descending fifth progressions. (Such progressions even have a name: Circle-of-Fifth progressions.)

This is counter-intuitive, because the “natural” direction of the hands of a clock is obviously “clockwise” (the 12 positions of the C ircle of Fifths are arranged to resemble a clock face). But apart from that, theCircle of Fifths has several major disadvantages as a harmonic scale stand-in:

1. No key-specific organizing framework. As you progress around the C ircle of Fifths, you exit the keyafter the second chord! And you don’t return unless you go all the way round the circle. (More on this in amoment.)

2. No connection between the chords of a major key and the chords of its relative minor. Not only is thebridging diminished chord missing, but the 12 minor chords are visually organized in their own separatecircle. Again, if you start a chord progression in any given minor key, you exit the key after two chordsand don’t return until you go all the way round the circle.

3. No identification of dominant sevenths or subdominant chords for any given key.

4. No way to identify third and second progressions.





5. No way to identify pivot chords for purposes of modulation.

The C ircle of Fifths has its uses, but not for showing pathways to meaningful, coherent chord progressionsand harmonic movement.

Many musicians mistakenly think that the Circle of Fifths actually has something to do with chordprogressions. Even authors of books on songwriting and music theory make this mistake, propagatingrubbish and confusing their readers to no end.

To be c lear: the Circle of Fifths shows key s ignatures and key relations—but not chord relations.

Here's an example of what happens when you treat the elements around the clock face of the C ircle of Fifths as chords instead of keys. Presumably, you would want to progress around the C ircle of Fifths as

though it's a big circular chord progression. To simplify matters, consider the outer circle only, theelements that would be the major “chords” if the Circle of Fifths had anything to do with chords

POSTED: 02/05/2008 - 10:06 am / quote |

ggiles :

In other words ... go to the site I posted in the above comment and learn to use the Harmonic scale tofigure understand chord progressions.

POSTED: 02/05/2008 - 10:08 am / quote |

Aquaegrannus :

I play guitar and like others I've learned up to now mostly by memorization. I recently decided tomemorize the fret board and the position of the fifths was my cue to knowing where the notes were. On acompletely unrelated effort, I was forming an outline of a topic that generated the geometry of three sidedpyramids with points building on lower points to organize the complexity of the argument. When the

"pyramids" were stacked the interior defined the relationship of the parts. I cross re ferenced geometry tosee if I could draw a conclusion and the relationship between the points of the shape inside, (anoctahedron...hmmm 8notes in a scale) anyway...mathematically the relationship of the linearGeometric points is a pure circle of fifths when given any frequency,(tone), describing perfect harmonicfrequency so I picked up my guitar and was astonished at the implication musically as relating the chordsand scales I'd learned by rote memorization. So I decided to do a search on this and came to thissite...music, geometry, and logic work on the same principles. The structure I was using to solidify anargument, I discovered, is called a FRACTAL pyramid and is used for complex computer graphicsprogramming, (look it up). It illustrates how things are related in an identical mathematical relationship onany scale, (you think the use of the word "scale" for music is accidental? Not!) Perhaps music IS the key toEVERYTHING as many a poet has said. I thought the clock concept really made it clear as to how it is usedin music. Thanks!

POSTED: 03/11/2008 - 11:39 am / quote |

Aquaegrannus :

Re: ggiles' post...I'm just getting started on music theory so I will definitely look into ALL resources. I mustsay that the circle of fifths is a really good way to get to know the fretboard notes and the composition of the major chords...and quickly.

POSTED: 03/11/2008 - 11:47 am / quote |

Ardolino_Cool :

crap crap crap...got nothing to do with musical theory that well except anyone who knows what a 5thmeans can figure that out. there shudnt be rules like this with chord progresions. i mean i know someonewho made a chord progression out of B major and B Minor chords...theory like this limits creativity.just**** circle of 5ths u play chords together that sound good to you...and what you wanna play.its whatbeing a guitarist is about...unless however your an actual musician not a guitarist.

POSTED: 03/16/2008 - 04:19 pm / quote |

danben1 :

Ardolino_Cool, Just because you don't understand it does not mean your not using everytime you play.When chords sound correct together its because you are using this theory, even if you do not realize it.

POSTED: 04/19/2008 - 12:06 pm / quote |

bowhunter_dude :

I've learned this stuff before but the way you explain it is crysa l clear, much easier to learn. Thanks

POSTED: 05/07/2008 - 09:39 pm / quote |

grengsdavid :

oh yeah i like e like it im gonna try to memorize it gotta get the grenery outt the scenery tho

POSTED: 05/09/2008 - 04:22 pm / quote |

Darkdevil725 :

I dont understand it but I am sure I will after a few readthroughs.

POSTED: 06/09/2008 - 10:52 am / quote |





minichibi :

I get it perfectly Thanks!

POSTED: 06/25/2008 - 12:35 pm / quote |

thedonutman :

I've just read through the whole lesson, and I *think* I understand. The circle of fifths is basically just antool to assist transposition of chord progressions, scales, arpeggios etc. ?

POSTED: 06/27/2008 - 05:47 pm / quote |

ChemicalFire :

This is a much better explanation of the Co5 than on the massive guide that's on this site. I understood

this perfectly.POSTED: 07/18/2008 - 06:11 pm / quote |

mnic001 :

Hey, if you go around the circle of fifths by looking at every other note, it's the whole tone scale. Whatdoes that mean?

POSTED: 07/25/2008 - 01:09 pm / quote |

mnic001 :

just a side-effect of going up by a fifth? Yeah I guess so. But is that fact useful?

POSTED: 07/25/2008 - 01:11 pm / quote |

woundedfinger :

Ardolino_Cool wrote:


how can you possibly say that a guitarist is not a MUSICIAN? what kind of guitar do you own man,MUSICAL or CRAPPISH? oh dont tell me, i know, CRAPPISH.. your guitar produces Crap, not Music, right?I advice you to listen to guitarists like Hendrix, or Cobain or Slash, then tell me if you hear music in yourears! cause if you dont hear music then you oughtta lay down your guitar and get a hammer instead..BTW, valuable info youve imparted peacemkr.. peace

POSTED: 07/28/2008 - 11:30 am / quote |

ChangingAString :

Have you thought of rotating the circle? Might make it a little easier than rotating everything else around it,for some people?

http://www.theguitarmaster.co.uk/staticpages/inde x.php?page=interactive-circle-fifths

POSTED: 08/03/2008 - 11:12 am / quote |

ChangingAString :

If you have any comments or criticism on my interactive circle of fifths, or if you want to modify it or use ion your own site, then please message me via my UG profile or my website.

http://www.theguitarmaster.co.uk/staticpages/ind ex.php?page=interactive-circle-fifths

POSTED: 08/03/2008 - 11:14 am / quote |

dyvyzyo :

Yes, good information and lesson. What is not clear [tho I can't say I've read all the posted comments]....In constructing the circle, as you instruct, why does Gb follows B ?

POSTED: 11/13/2008 - 12:34 am / quote |

towerman8888 :

Come on people, take your time and read it slowly and tell yourself that there is something to learn in thisarticle. Comprend what your reading, don't move forward from one sentence to the next withoutunderstanding what it says. This information is straight forward and very useful if you want your guitarplaying to be all that it can. Thanks for the article very well put as far as if it's a circle or a tube orwhatever is just a bunch of jea lous crybaby's with nothing better to do. Ser iously

POSTED: 11/20/2008 - 09:59 am / quote |

rtdancer123 :

rtdancer123corwinoid sure knows his stuff...I understood everything as far as the purpose of your comment. However,





you are only explaining how to transpose. To be able to play without needing sheet music ormemorization,what else can the circle offer?

POSTED: 12/15/2008 - 04:13 pm / quote |

rtdancer123 :

I meant to say that if you want to be free of needing sheet music to be able to play a tune, you are beingrestrained. There must be rules to why one chord or a group of chords are suitable at particular times.That is what we all should be looking to know.

POSTED: 12/15/2008 - 04:28 pm / quote |

WaryGuitarist :

GREAT LESSON! but 1 question do you always have to use C as the root?

POSTED: 01/02/2009 - 01:25 pm / quote |

WaryGuitarist :

Ardolino_Cool wrote:


And you... its not a rule its a technique to figure out which chords, or even single notes, are related to thesame key, but i don't expect a dumbass like you to understand...

POSTED: 01/02/2009 - 01:29 pm / quote |

Fast Motion :

aaaaah so that's what that thing is about!!!!

POSTED: 01/31/2009 - 01:33 pm / quote |

Fast Motion :

aaaaah so that's what that thing is about!!!!

POSTED: 01/31/2009 - 01:33 pm / quote |

PoopChute :

to the pl who dont understand, start first by memorizing the fretboard and learn how major scales aremade then come back to this, itll be easier

POSTED: 02/16/2009 - 08:35 pm / quote |

PoopChute :

o and another helpful tool is studybass.com and go to the fretboard printer it helped me so it might helpyou

POSTED: 02/16/2009 - 08:52 pm / quote |

returns.of.king :

That's Very impressive. And helpful for me. Thank You so much and keep on going n Rockin!!!

POSTED: 03/06/2009 - 04:23 pm / quote |

metallicate :

One of the best theories so far. It was made easy to understand, without losing the important points.Thank you for this contribution, keep it up!

POSTED: 03/16/2009 - 11:26 am / quote |

HEXAGRAM66 :excellent!!

POSTED: 03/19/2009 - 06:55 pm / quote |

Untutored-Youth :

Awesome.

I've been avoiding learn this for a long time because it sounded confusing, then I tried learning it on wikiand my mind was raped.

Now I understand. Cheers.

POSTED: 03/24/2009 - 06:13 pm / quote |

ShredandRip :

Great Article. 5 stars for the point you were trying to get across.





POSTED: 04/24/2009 - 10:43 am / quote |

ShredandRip :

sorry 10

POSTED: 04/24/2009 - 10:45 am / quote |

casman_1969 :

ok guys n gals - the circle of fifths is easy when you think about it. think back to the 1st three chords youlearned to play. I bet is was G, C & D7 or may be D,G & A7. Then maybe you learned E, A & B7 or C, F & G7.

Go on - try it just now. Strum G, C & D7 in sequence.Now try D, G & A7. You've just played the same chord progression but in different keys? (Key of G andkey of D respectively)

There are many many songwriters who write music with 3 basic chords in the sequences I have shown (socalled 3 chord tricks).

Now here's the beauty of the C ircle of Fifths - take the chords G, C & D7. Look at their position on thecircle - notice how the C & D are either side of the G? And how G & A sit either side of D?

Now take E - what sits either side?

And what sits either side of C?

Do you see a pattern emerging?

Now (and here's the beauty of the C ircle of Fifths) lets say you have a song written in the key of E - usguitarists love that key but the singers want to singer in a different key to suit their vocal range. so youhave to play in Gb (which incidentally is the same key as F#).

But I don't know the Gb chords you say to them in a panic. Stop! Look at the Circ le and find Gb and the 2chords either side of it B & Db. Guess what, you can play that song with Gb, B & Db.

Hopefully these comments will help clarify for you.

One final point - I said Gb & F# were the same. How can that be you ask? Well its due to "enharmonic"equivalents" or as I prefer to say, the position of notes on a keyboard.

I'm sure we are familiar with the white keys on a keyboard. Thinking of doh, ray me in the key of C , youhave the notes C, D , E, F, G, A, B & C .

Now look at the position of the black keyboard keys (the so called sharps and flats). These are the notesbetween certain of the white ones. Well, here's a thing:

C# = DbD# = EbF# = GbG# = AbA# = Bb

And its the same on the guitar fretboard and the C icle of Fiths as well.

Hope this helps - and I'm not a teacher - just been playing 6-string accoustic for 28 years and only nowgetting into electric. Now where do I find the dummies guide to lead guitar.....

POSTED: 07/18/2009 - 03:12 am / quote |

AMMMM :

I was trying to figure out how a simple song like "She loves you/Beatles" is constracted.

When you take a look at this song it looks like this:EmShe loves you, yeah, yeah, yeahAShe loves you, yeah, yeah, yeahC G6She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah

Verse 1:

G EmYou think you've lost your loveBm DWell I saw her yesterdayG EmIt's you she's thinking of Bm DAnd she told me what to say





Chorus:

[1: She says 3: Because] she loves youEm [xx5003 xx4002 xx2000]And you know that can't be badCmYes she loves youDAnd you know you should be glad

The first chord in the song is Em. Does this mean that the key of this song is E Minor ?If it´s in a key of Em than shoudn´t it be using the E Minor scale for construction of the rest of the chords

in the song ? When I take a look at the E Minor scale it looks like this E-F#-G-A-B-C-D-E. Now if you takea look at the second chord in the song it´s A which means that it construced of A C # E BUT the E Minorscale does not have a C#.If you take a look at the third chord in the song it´s C and this chord is construced of C-E-G.The chords for this song does not seem to be constructed from the same scale ?Anyone who can explain how this song is construced ???

POSTED: 07/21/2009 - 12:18 pm / quote |

FarazRahman :

So let me get this straight...The key of the song determines where you start on the circle of fifths. Then if you want to figure out what chords to use to get whatever feel you're looking for you would use the circleagain? And after that for individual notes you would use the circle to help with phrasing/finding notes withina chord? Am I right at all?

POSTED: 08/10/2009 - 12:28 pm / quote |

FarazRahman :

Could the same structure be applied to thirds or 7ths or something weird like that as well?

POSTED: 08/10/2009 - 12:28 pm / quote |

FarazRahman :

Now where do I find the dummies guide to lead guitar.....[/quote]

look up "redsgsgshredder" on youtube. he has a lot of v ideos on lead, rhythm, and harmony guitars, aswell as theory and technique.

POSTED: 08/10/2009 - 11:51 pm / quote |

FarazRahman :

[quote]casman_1969 wrote:

Now where do I find the dummies guide to lead guitar.....

look up "redsgsgshredder" on youtube. he has a lot of v ideos on lead, rhythm, and harmony guitars, aswell as theory and technique.

POSTED: 08/12/2009 - 04:38 pm / quote |

tucuxi :

Ok, I think everyone needs to hear what I am about say for this lesson. The circle of fifths, as shown hereis not actually accurate. The circle of fifths claims to get it's name from the 5th of every note previous toit. In other words, starting with C and including C, there is five notes from C to G. From G there is fivenotes from G to D, from D to A is five notes. From A to E is five notes. From E to B is five notes. However,the circle of fifths as shown here has a fault. From B to F is give notes, but here it shows B to Gb. That isn'ta fifth!!!!! Circle of fifths doesn't work. It isn't a circle of fifths, because the pattern is brokn from B to Gb.Think about it everyone! BAD thing to teach the Circle of Fifths. It should be called "C ircle of Fifths" with

the exception of B to Gb, Gb to Db (which isn't a fifth), etc. Come guys, why teach of circle of fifths if theyaren't all fifths?????

POSTED: 09/19/2009 - 10:49 pm / quote |

tucuxi :

Sorry, typos. From B to F is five notes, but there is no B to F here. It shows B to Gb. B to Gb is not a fifth.Understand? That is why everyone is so confused. The C ircle of Fifths really isn't all fifths. So, it's a badthing to teach!

POSTED: 09/19/2009 - 10:52 pm / quote |

saitenslayer :

thank god this was easier to understand then my music teachers version XDbut its a pretty simple concept to under stand as long as you know to start on C and count up to the 5thdegree (G) C -D-E-F-G-A-B-C and if you want to find a C major scale count up to the 6th degree C -D-E-F-G-A-B-C so your C minor scale would be A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A





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POSTED: 12/01/2009 - 09:45 pm / quote |

obiwanspicoli :

Uhhhh, Tucuxi, F# = Gb

There are 5 sharps in B: F#, C#, G#, D# A#B C# D# E (F#) G# A# B

POSTED: 12/15/2009 - 11:08 am / quote |

dave_wrathchild :

thank you it was really good better than the last one i read im not thick but the last one made no sense

thank you

David =)

POSTED: 12/21/2009 - 07:04 pm / quote |

arrthor :

I don't understand how you are supposed to figure out scales, could someone please explain it to me?

POSTED: 02/07/2010 - 03:26 am / quote |

Theatrik :

How could you not get this? impressive method. alot of people use this when trying to learn songs by earand when they find the "feeling" of the changes...they grab the right key, thus learning the song.

POSTED: 03/28/2010 - 04:34 am / quote |

wazzyWAZZYwazzy :

I pretty much got the idea of it...you explained just as well as anyone else could have. Good job.

POSTED: 07/19/2010 - 01:59 pm / quote |

Wing00 :

Your pentatonic minors arent nessacarilly straight up pentatonics. Standard pentatonic minors are asfollows;

1,3,4,5,7

Where as yours are;

1,2,3,4,7

Which is an altered version of scale.

POSTED: 08/11/2010 - 12:54 pm / quote |

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