Intro

The circle of fifths, not to be confused with the circle of death, is often viewed as too confusing and too complicated to learn. There are a bunch of seemingly random letters on a shape. These letters are not random and the circle of fifths is not all that hard to learn. After reading this lesson, you will be able to understand everything you need to know about the circle of fifths.

Definition

The circle of fifths is a sequence of pitches, in a circle, in which the next pitch (turning clockwise) is found seven half steps (semitones) higher than the last.

A fifth (perfect fifth) is the interval that spans seven half steps from the root note. For example, the interval from A to E is a perfect fifth above the tonic note.

Uses

The circle of fifths is used for building chords, composing melodies, and switching keys within a composition.

The circle is often used for determining the relationship between diatomic scales.

Important Note

All the letters on the circle can be used to represent either notes, chords, or keys.

Finding The Notes On The Circle

You should know how the notes are arranged in the circle. As the name of the circle tells you, they are separated by fifths. Again, a fifth is an interval made up of seven half steps (or semitones) from the root note of a scale. If you play the major scale, while counting each note, the first note is the root. The fifth note you play would follow the root note on the circle.

At the top of the circle is C. Going clockwise, the fifth of C is G.

The notes in the C Major scale are as follows:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1

C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C

You can see that G is, in fact, the fifth of C. If you do not know how to find the notes in the major scales, check out this blog post on the major scale.

Now use G as the root note:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1

G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

Following the circle and this pattern, the fifth of G is D. This pattern continues throughout the circle.

You can find the fifth on your guitar in a few ways.

The easiest way is finding the root note on the low E string and playing a power chord. Power chords are made from a root note (the first) and the fifth.

e|—–

B|—–

G|—–

D|—–

A|–5–

E|–3–

The 3rd Fret E string’s note is G and the 5th Fret A string’s note is D. The G is the root note and the D is it’s fifth. Now look at the circle, find G on the top right-hand side, the next note going clockwise is D.

Remembering The Circle

It is time-consuming doing all that work to find the notes on the circle whenever you want to use it. Memorizing the circle is a good way to save time. However, keep in mind, it is still important you understand how those notes were found.

Here’s an easy and fast way to learn the notes on the circle. This is for the right half of the circle:

Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Big Fish.

The other half of the circle can be remembered with this short saying:

Cats Fondle BEADs

You can also remember the inside of the circle if you’re interested using these two sayings;

Starting from Bb going counterclockwise

Bad Dogs Go Chasing Frogs

BEAD GCF (as in Bead, Greatest Common Factor)

Keep in mind you can use the other sayings to remember the inside as well, however, the circle is often shown with the sharps and flats being the opposite name for the note in the center.

Using The Letters As Notes

As stated before, the circle’s letters can illustrate notes, chords, or keys. Let’s use the circle with the letters representing notes first. This can be used for building chords.

Major Chords

Major chords are formed from the I, III, and V of the major scale. (That’s the root note, it’s third, and it’s fifth).

So, let’s take C Major. The root is obviously C. The fifth is one space to the right of C on the circle, which is G. The third is two whole steps away from C. In C major that note is E. If you take the note under the fifth you get the third. That note, in this case, is E. Therefore, C-E-G are the notes in C major.

Now try G major.

Start at G, go to the right one note and you have D for your fifth. Under the fifth is the third, B. That means G-B-D are the three notes that make up the G major chord.

Minor Chords

To find a minor chord’s notes all you have to do is flatten the third of the major chord. So for C minor, you would flatten the E. The notes for C minor are C, Eb, G.

Take G minor instead of the G Major chord you found before. G-Bb-D would be the three notes that make up the G minor chord.

7th Chords

7th chords are a bit more tricky to determine with the circle. 7th chords are formed by taking a major triad and adding a minor seventh. To find the minor 7th of a root note;

You need to take the note listed below the root note on the circle. Go across from that note. Then go clockwise to the next note.

So for C,

The note below C on the circle is A Directly across from A is D# Then go clockwise to Bb

Follow the image to the right for reference.

Now you can add the minor 7th to the Major chord’s notes and you will have a C7. C7 is short for C dominant seventh. You can follow this pattern around the circle.

Augmented Chords

Like the minor chords, the notes for augmented chords are easy to find. Simply find the Major chord’s notes then sharpen the fifth.

For C, you can determine the notes are C-E-G. Sharpen the fifth, and you have C-E-G#

Try to form some of these chords, use the chart below to check yourself.

Chord Major Minor 7th Aug(+) C C,E,G C,Eb,G Bb C,E,G# Db/C# Db,F,Ab Db,E,Ab B Db,F,A D D,F#,A D,F,A C D,F#,Bb Eb/D# Eb,G,Bb Eb,Gb,Bb Db Eb,G,B E E,G#,B E,G,B D E,G#,C F F,A,C F,Ab,C Eb F,A,C# Gb/F# Gb,Bb,Db Gb,A,Db E Gb,Bb,D G G,B,D G,Bb,D F G,B,D# Ab/G# Ab,C,Eb Ab,B,Eb F# Ab,C,E A A,C#,E A,C,E G A,C#,F Bb/A# Bb,D,F Bb, Db,F Ab Bb,D,Gb B B,D#,F# B,D,F# A B,D#,G

Using The Letters As Chords

Think of the letters on the circle to represent chords instead of notes now.

In a chord progression, a five chord provides tension for your root chord. It’s almost the opposite of the root chord. You can find the five chord by taking the root chord and moving clockwise to the next chord listed. Again, C Majors’s five chord would be G Major. Just like the note C’s fifth is G. You can also find the three chord the same way you found the third. Take the note beneath the fifth. You get E. Because you’re finding a major key, the E chord would be minor. Use the patterns below for more on this.

Basic Rundown Of Chord Progressions

The chord number is listed and is followed by whether it is Major, minor, or diminished.

For Major keys:

I – Major II – minor III – minor IV -Major V – Major VI – minor VII – Diminished

For minor keys:

I – minor II – Diminished III – Major IV – minor V – minor VI – Major VII – Major

Using the letters as keys:



What The Key Signatures Tell You

The image above is different than the others; there are ledger lines around the circle. They tell you what sharps or flats are in each key they are called key signatures. You may have noticed C does not have any ledger lines, that is because the C Major key has no sharps or flats.

In the C Major scale, there are no sharps or flats

In the G Major scale, there is one sharp

In the D Major scale, there are two sharps

In the A Major scale, there are three sharps

Relative keys are keys that have the same key signature. This is shown by the letters that are paired together vertically. C Major and A minor are relative keys. As well as G major and E minor.

The circle can be used for key changes. When changing keys in a composition you need to ease a listener into the change. This can only be done by using similar keys. You can find keys that are similar to each other based on their closeness. The closer they are the easier the change. Switching from C Major to G Major would be easy as they only have a one note difference.

If a key you would like to switch to is further away from the key you are currently in, you can work your way to that key. From C Major to F# Major you could use start with C, to G, to A, to E, to F#. This is something that is very song specific, however. You just don’t want to be introducing too many new notes into a composition too quickly.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading Shred ‘Till You’re Dead’s blog! Hopefully, you have a better understanding of the circle of fifths. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, leave a comment or send a direct message right here or on social. Keep rockin’!