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Wait like the musical circle of fifths?
It’s basically a handy way of mapping the relationships between the 12 notes of the chromatic scale and highlighting the patterns of their key signatures.
The first thing you need to know are perfect fifths. A perfect fifth is the note that is 7 semitones above another note. For example, C’s perfect fifth is G. These perfect fifths all form a loop: if you started at C and went up 12 perfect fifths, you’d end up back at (a far higher) C.
Now the order of these perfect fifths all follow a pattern, that goes F C G D A E B. It then repeats with all the sharp notes. The circle of fourths is the pattern backwards (B E A D G C F), with flats instead of sharps.
But because we root a lot of our music stuff in C instead of F, that gets shifted around a bit, and there’s some overlap points (like E♯ is just F). The simplified version is this:
**Circle of fifths (sharps):** C, G, D, A, E, B, F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, F, C
**Circle of fourths (flats):** C, F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, B, E, A, D, G, C
If you’re able to memorize these two patterns, it’s a lot of handy mnemonics for figuring out info about key signatures.
For example, how many sharps are in E major? E is 4 perfect fifths above C, so it has 4 sharps. What are those sharps? It follows the pattern, so F♯, C♯, D♯ and A♯.
How many flats are in D♭ major? D♭ is 5 perfect fourths above C, so it has 5 flats. What are those flats? It follows the backwards pattern, so B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, and G♭.
What about minor keys? To find a major’s corresponding minor chord, count up 3 on the circle of fifths, or down 3 on the circle of fourths. G major has the same number and kind of sharps as E minor. E♭ major has the same number and kind of flats as C minor.
A half step is the smallest movement possible on a piano, and a 5th is comprised of 7 half steps.
G is the 5th of C.
C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G, each dash is a half step. This is important because this is how you find the 5th of any note.
If we start at C:
G is the 5th of C
D is the 5th of G
A is the 5th of D
E is the 5th of A
B is the 5th of E
F# is the 5th of B
C# is the 5th of F#
G# is the 5th of C#, but rather than continuing with G#, let’s call it Ab for the rest of the list as it makes things easier.
Eb is the 5th of Ab
Bb is the 5th of Eb
F is the 5th of Bb
C is the 5th of F
We got back to C. Starting at any note, we circle back around to the starting note by cycling through all the notes by 5ths. That’s all the circle of 5th is, an ever revolving cycle.
Edit: well, it’s not ALL the circle is. It has implications for memorizing key signatures and if depicted in certain ways, can help you find chords that work well together in a song. But at its core, the circle of 5ths is just a coincidence that results from the structure of music.
In the simplest terms, I’ve always told my students that the circle of fifths is like the periodic table for music. It’s an arrangement of keys–or chords–in their most logical, musical connections to each other.
For example, if you’re playing a C major chord, the two chords that most naturally connect with it are F and G, the two chords on either side of C in the circle. This works with chords or keys or scales. The chord that sounds the “worst” or least natural–least connected–with C is the one furthest from it in the circle–F#.
If you happen to be in F# and you want to get to C, the easiest way to do it is to follow the circle F# B, E A, D, G, C. Each of those is a natural-sounding musical connection, so it will sound good all the way. (Or you could go the other direction: F# Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F, C)
The more you play around with it, the more you see it everywhere. For example, probably the most famous jazz move is the ii V I chord progression. In the key of C, that’s Dm, G, C. So you could say it’s just three chords in a row on the circle–D, G, C, with the D chord as a minor chord. But then you also notice that Dm is the relative minor of F which is right on the other side of C. So, from another viewpoint, you’re playing F, G, C which is, again, three connected chords on the circle.
And, after a while, you begin to feel as though everything is connected into one sort of mega-chord and you start to go a little nuts and almost understand John Coltrane.
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