"The Circle of 5ths"
-Drew Peterson
The "circle of 5ths" is one of these things that keeps popping up in music
theory, and ortunately, although it's absolutely crucial to modern music, it's really
a pretty simple concept. Simply put, the Circle of 5ths is the 12 pitches of the
chromatic scale arranged so they're a 5th apart. So how does that apply to the guitar?
Well, the first pitch in the chromatic scale is C, so we'll start from there.
What's a 5th above C? Well, G. Now what's a 5th above G? D. Continue until you get
back to C. If you play this on the guitar, you'll get this (played as full major
chords):
C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# E# B#
(Gb) (Db) (Ab) (Eb) (Bb) (F) (C)
|---3---3---5---5---7---7---9----9----11---11---13---13---15---|
|---5---3---7---5---9---7---11---9----13---11---15---13---17---|
|---5---4---7---6---9---8---11---10---13---12---15---14---17---|
|---5---5---7---7---9---9---11---11---13---13---15---15---17---|
|---3---5---5---7---7---9---9----11---11---13---13---15---15---|
|-------3-------5-------7--------9---------11--------13--------|
The notes in parentheses below the sharp notes at the end are the "enharmonic
equivalents," or a different name for the same pitch. The reason the 5th above the A#
is called "E#" and not "F" is a product of the system of naming pitches in a scale.
Each pitch can only be represented by one letter, and it's the relationship between
the letters that determines the name of the interval, in this case, a 5th. For
example, an A scale contains the pitches, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, and G#. The third scale
degree will always be some sort of C note- in an A major, it'll be C#, in an A minor,
it'll be C. This is because C# is the third degree of an A major scale. Even though C#
and Db refer to the same pitches, it would be incorrect to say that there's a Db in an
A major chord, because Db is the diminished (half step flat) 4th scale degree, not the
major 3rd. Anal? Yes. But it makes things much easier when you're working with
standard notation, so grit your teeth and bear it for now, and it'll become natural
and save you trouble later. So, to backtrack a bit, even though E# is the same pitch
as F, to say that the 5th of A# is F would be an interval not of a perfect 5th but
rather a diminished 6th. Granted, the interval is the same distance of pitch, but they
function musically in different ways.
Ok, so what does this do for us? Well, as you played through the circle of
fifths, you should notice that each chord sounds essentially "correct" in the context
of the others- it sounds like something unusual is going on, but yet none of the
chords sound really dissonant. Cool. That means, in theory, you should be able to
build chord progressions from the circle of 5ths, right? Well, play the following
musical example:
tabbed by Andy Aledort
(N.C)
|---0----0-------------------0--------------------0------------------------|
|-3/5--5\3------0------------0--------------------0------------7-----7-----|
|-----------4\2-0-0h1----(1)-1--------------------1--------7---7-7---7-----|
|-----------------0h2----(2)--------------5----4--2---9----7h9---7h9---9\--|
|----------------------------------/5-----5----4--2---7--------------------|
|---------------------0----------0------0----0----0-----0------------------|
(repeat with variations)
C G D A E
||-------------5--------------------------------------------0--------------||
||-----5-----3-3-3-3----3-3------------------0-0------------0-----3-3-5----||
||-----5-----4---4-4----2-2-2---2-2---2----1-1-1----------1---2/4-4-4---4\-||
||-----5-----5---5-5----0---2-4-2-2-X-2----2---2----0---0-2----------------||
||-3-3---3--------------0-------0---X------2-----/2---2---2----------------||
||---------3---------/5-----------------3b-0--------------0----------------||
T
As you've probably figured out, this is the beginning to Hendrix's "Hey Joe."
(Actually, the rhythm part is from the second line, i liked it more than the first
line. I got the tab from Hal Leonard "Hendrix: Are You Experienced?" book). The root
notes of this progression are all from the E minor scale, but the chords themselves
don't fit in neatly (for one, the E chord is major; additionally, the A chord contains
a C#. You could treat this as a progression derrived from a scale containing the
pitches E, F#, G, A, B, C, C#, and D, but that's not really true). Here Hendrix (or
Billy Roberts, rather, the song's original composer) is playing off both the fact that
you CAN move through the cycle of 5ths, and the tension created by such movement to
create a strong release down to the E major chord at the end of the riff.
What else is the Circle of 5ths good for? Well, it makes understanding key
signatures far simpler. As you add sharps, you go upward through the circle of 5ths,
and each time you add a sharp a half step below the key center. For example, no sharps
is C major. One sharp is G major, and has F# as it's sole sharped note. Two sharps is
D major, and contains F# and C# (which, if you'll notice, is a 5th above the first
sharp you added; an alternate way of looking at this). Three sharps is A major, and
contains F#, C#, and G#. And so on. Going the opposite direction, you descend through
the circle of 5ths from C as you add flats, and the note that you flat is the next
step down the circle of 5ths. For instance, C has no flats, F has one flat, which is
Bb. Bb has two flats, Bb, and Eb. Eb has three flats, Bb, Eb, and Ab. And so on.
Another thing the Circle of 5ths is useful for is changing keys. The
resolution from a 5th to it's tonic note is fundamental to western harmony, and
correspondingly, a key change of a 5th is fairly natural to the ear. For example, play
a blues riff in A, but instead of resolving to the E in the turnaround, resolve to a
B. This still sounds "natural" in the context of the A scale, but as the B is the 5th
degree of E, it naturally wants to resolve to an E chord, like this:
E D A B E (new key!)
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------...
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------...
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------...
|-9--9-11-9-9-9-11-9-7--7-9-7-7-7-9-7-------------------------------|-7-7-11-7-...
|-7--7-7--7-7-7-7--7-5--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-7-9-7-7-7-9-7-7-7-9-9---9-9-|-9-9-9--9-...
|-------------------------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-7---7-7-|----------...
And then shuffle away in E. I'm not too familiar with the tune, but my dad
says Johnny Cash does this all over the place in "I Walk The Line" (A country singer
back when country singers kicked the crap out of people like Garth Brooks for fun).
And this move can also be used to shift from major to minor- the chord built
on the 5th degree is major in both the major scale and the harmonic minor scale (the
one usually used to build chords from in minor keys, as it provides a stronger
resolution back to the tonic chord), so by landing on the 5th from a major chord you
can (if you phrase it carefully) go to a minor tonic chord. For an excellent example,
take a look at Satriani's "Always With Me, Always With You."
3x
Badd4 Emaj7/6 F#sus4
|--------------------------------------------------|
|-------5-----------5------------4-----------2-----|
|-----8---8-------8---8--------6---6-------4---4---|
|---9-------9---9-------9----6-------6---4-------4-|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|-7-----------7-----------0------------2-----------|
4th time
F#sus4/G# Emaj7/6 F#sus4 F#
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------2-----------4-----------2-----------2-----|
|-----4---4-------6---6-------4---4-------3---3---|
|---4-------4---6-------6---4-------4---4-------4-|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-4-----------0-----------2-----------2-----------|
3x
Bmadd9 Emadd9 F#7sus4
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|--------7-------------7------------0-----------4-----|
|-----11---11-------11---11-------4---4-------2---2---|
|---9---------9---9---------9---2-------2---4-------4-|
|-7-------------7-------------0-----------2-----------|
Gadd9 Emadd9 F#7sus4 F#7
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------4-----------0-----------4-----------3-----|
|-----7---7-------4---4-------2---2-------2---2---|
|---5-------5---2-------2---4-------4---4-------4-|
|-3-----------0-----------2-----------2-----------|
Gadd9 Emadd9 F#7sus4 F#7
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------4-----------0-----------4-----------4-----------3--------------|
|-----7---7-------4---4-------2---2-------2---2-------2---2------------|
|---5-------5---2-------2---4-------4---4-------4---4-------4----------|
|-3-----------0-----------2-----------2-----------2-----------2--------|
...and back to the major chords. Once again, the F#7 can resolve to either a
minor or major B chord, and by dwelling on it at the end as he does, he both weakens
the "minor" sound of the progression and increases the tension leading back to the
tonic chord, creating a powerful release back to the major chord.
That's about it for the general idea behind and uses of the circle of 5ths.
I'll upload a few diagrams if i get a chance- it's called a "circle" of 5ths because
it's usually laid out in a circle. (Due to it's cyclic nature, this works rather
nicely). You can use the resolution from the 5th trick after moving through the circle
a bit, too, so if you have the patience and it fits the situation, you can do some
more extreme key shifts that way. Enjoy! :o)
-Drew