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How to Benefit from The Circle of Fifths and Fourths

The circle (or cycle) of fifths, also called the cycle of fourths is a diagram that gives all kind of handy information
on key signatures, chords and scales in a quick and clear manner.
Besides that, its an awesome practice tool to improve your guitar playing.
The circle displays all 12 notes of the chromatic scale (those are all the notes in western music) and moves
clockwise in intervals of fifths.
An interval of a fifth is equal to 7 semitones or 7 frets on the guitar.
Counter-clockwise the circle moves in intervals of fourths which is equal to 5 semitones or 5 frets.
The circle of fifths is generally used for the study of classical music whereas the cycle of fourth is more often used
for the analysis of jazz music, but let that not stop you because there is so much to gain from the circle for any style
of music. Make it part of your knowledge of music theory. It will help you in many ways.
Lets check it out:
Recognizing key signatures
The cycle of fifths is an easy way of finding the key signature of a song. The cycle will show you how many sharps
or flats each key contains. At the top the key of C has no sharps or flats. Turn one step clockwise each time and the
sharps add up. Next to C on the cycle youll find the key of G which has 1 sharp, then D has 2 sharps, A has 3
sharps and so on.
If you go anti-clockwise one step each time the flats up. To left of C youll find F which has 1 flat, then Bb has 2
flats, Eb has 3 flats, Ab has 4 flats and so on.
This is useful also and especially if you cant read music. When you see a music score which makes no sense to
you, but you see 3 sharps in the beginning of the note staff, youll know that the song is in the key of A.
Knowing how many and which sharp or flats are in a key is helpful for analyzing chords, scales and for practical

reasons when you learn soloing. The more you know about music theory, the more it will help you on the way to
become an accomplished guitar player.
Lets take a look how many sharps, flats and which ones each key contains:
C contains 0 #s
G: 1 # = F#
D: 2 # = F#, C#
A: 3 # = F#, C#, G#
E: 4 # = F#, C#, G#, D#
B: 5 # = F#, C#, G#, D#, A#
F#: 6 # = F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#
C#: 7 # = F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#
F: 1 b = Bb
Bb: 2 b = Bb, Eb
Eb: 3 b = Bb, Eb, Ab
Ab: 4 b = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
Db: 5 b = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
Gb: 6 b = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
Cb: 7 b = Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb
Note that the order of the sharps and flats is always the same. For sharps: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B# and for flats
its the exact opposite: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb.
So if there is one sharp in a key, then just add a sharp to F. If there are two sharps in a key, add the sharps to F and
C. Three sharps in a key, add the sharps to F, C and G, four sharps in a key, add the sharps to F, C, G and D and so
on.
Below you can find a mnemonic to memorize the sharps and flats.
Scales
The letters on the cycle of fifth indicate the tonic of the major scale and shows the number of sharps or flats for its
key signature. However you can also find the number of sharps or flats for the minor scale by rotating the circle
counter-clockwise and going 3 steps back.
Example: How many sharps or flats does the Am scale contain? Find the A on the circle and go 3 steps counterclockwise and youll see it has no sharps or flats. How many sharps or flats for the E minor scale? Go 3 steps
counter-clockwise and youll see it has 1 sharp. How many sharps or flats for the scale of Cm? Right! 3 flats.
Cycle of fourths
While the cycle of fifths moves clockwise (from left to right), if you move counter-clockwise (from right to left)
then you have the cycle of fourths.
Chords move around in the cycle of fourths. Its the way music flows. Almost any song you come across has
consecutive chords that move around the cycle of fourths. Some parts in a song move in alternate directions but you
can find movement of consecutive fourths throughout every song, going from A to D, from D to G, from G to C,
from C to F and so on.
The cycle of fourths is also great for practicing purposes. See practicing below.
1-4-5 progressions
A 1-4-5 progression is a very common chord progression used in pop music and a standard for blues music. Its
based on a chord progression derived from the major scale. To understand how this works exactly check out:
Building chords and progressions of the major scale
A 1-4-5 progression can easily be read from the circle of fifth. For instance, if G is your tonic then G is the 1 in
1-4-5. Now rotate one step counter-clockwise then C is the 4 in this 1-4-5 progression. Finally rotate one step
clockwise from G and D is the 5 in this 1-4-5 progression. So if your root note is G then your 1-4-5 progression
is G-C-D. If your root note is A then A-D-E is your 1-4-5 progression. Take a look at the circle of fifth above and
see how easy it shows.
Transcribing songs
If you understand chord movement its easier to transcribe songs. As I described earlier, songs and chord
progressions tend to move and flow in fourths, which makes the cycle of fourths easier for transcription.

Example of songs that almost completely flow in fourths are: I will survive Gloria Gaynor, Autumn leaves, Fly
me to the moon Frank Sinatra, Island in the sun Weezer, Wild world Cat Stevens and many more.
Transposing songs
The circle is also a very helpful tool for transposing a song or chord progression to a different key. You might want
to transpose a song to find a key that best suits your voice or to find chords that make a song easier to play.
Lets say the chord progression of your song is / Eb / Bb / Cm / Ab / and you want to play it in the key of C, then
simply move all four chords up 3 steps on the circle of fifth. You chord progression is going to look like this / C /
G / Am / F /. These chords a lot easier to play. While it may be 3 steps up on the circle but in reality youre going
down 3 half steps on the fingerboard from Eb to C which might be a key that better suits your voice or worse :)
Practicing
Another great way to benefit from the circle is to practice scales, chords and exercises following the cycle of
fourths. For example to make sure you can play a particular scale shape everywhere on the neck start playing the
scale in the key of C then go one step clockwise on the circle of fifth and play your scale in the key of G, take
another step clockwise and play it in the key of D and so on, until you come back to the key of C.
Once youve completed the entire circle you played your scale in every key on the neck. Thats a great way of
learning all your scales, licks and arpeggios in all keys. Dont underestimate this exercise or think for a minute that
you can play your scale all over the neck just because you can play it in one position. You really need to learn it in
every position to become an accomplished guitar player.
Tips:
Learn to draw the circle of fifth like the one in this post with all the keys and the amount of sharps and flats
around it.
Memorize the cycle of fifths mnemonics:
Clockwise from F: Father Christmas Gave Dad An Electric Blanket
Counter clockwise from Bb: Blanket Explodes And Dad Gets Cold Feet
Memorize and use the circle of fifth regularly off the top of your head to access quick and valuable information
when you need it. Youll need it.
Enjoy expanding your knowledge of music theory!
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Building Chords and Progressions of The Major Scale

September 21st, 2013 | Author: Klaus Crow
Photo by Bigstockphoto

Knowing how to build chords and chord progressions is a really great tool for writing your own songs and
communicating with your fellow musicians on how to play a certain piece of music, Lets play a 1 4 5 progression
in the key of
You can create the most beautiful chord progressions and songs by ear and you dont necessarily need to know
music theory for that, but it makes the life of a musician a lot easier if you do know some music theory on this part.

Its nice to know what other musicians are talking about and how you can create chord progressions in a more
effective and efficient way.
Adding music theory knowledge will reveal a lot of secrets you wish you had known before, so dont wait for later
or youll miss out on all the good stuff. Music theory will definitely make you a better musician!
Now lets dive in:
From the major scale you can build 7 diatonic chords. The major scale consists of 7 notes, so thats one chord of
each note.
Lets take the C major scale for example.
C D E F G A B + C (=octave)
To build the first chord C of the major scale we stack thirds on top of each other. So if you start at C you take
the 1st note (stack a third), 3rd note (stack another third) and the 5th note of the major scale: C E G
C E G = C Major
Then we build a chord of the second degree of the major scale D
Again from the D chord we stack thirds on top of each other.
So from D take the 1st, 3rd and 5th note = D F A
D F A = D minor
Build a chord from the 3rd degree of the major scale E
Stacking thirds: E G B
E G B = E minor
Chord from 4th degree is F, stacking thirds: F A C = F Major
Chord from 5th degree is G, stacking thirds: G B D = G Major
Chord from 6th degree is A, stacking thirds: A C E = A minor
Chord from 7th degree is B, stacking thirds: B D F = B diminished
So we got:
C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor and B diminished.
All these chords can be used if youre playing a chord progression in the key of C
Now we can derive a formula from this pattern of chords.
Formula for finding chords in a major scale:
1=Major, 2=minor, 3=minor, 4=Major, 5=Major, 6=minor, 7=dim
This formula can be applied to every key.
For example if you take the G major scale: G A B C D E F#
Apply formula and you get these chords:
G Major, A minor, B minor, C Major, D Major, E minor, F#dim
So if you wanna write a song or a chord progression in the key of G you can use all these chords randomly and they
will all sound perfectly well together.
BUILDING CHORD PROGRESSIONS:
In music we use roman numerals to indicate the order of chords in a chord progression.
So lets take the chords built of the G Major scale for example:
I = G Major, ii = A minor, iii = B minor, IV = C Major, V = D Major, vi = E minor and vii = F#dim.
Now we can build chord progressions with these roman numerals. Here are some of the most common chord
progression in pop, folk, country and rock music. With these chord progressions thousands and thousands of hit
songs were written and that will probably be the case for decades to come.
Progression: I V
In the key of G that is = G D
In the key of C that is = C G
Song examples: Jambalaya Hank Williams, Dance the night away The Mavericks
Progression: I IV V
In the key of G that is = G C D

In the key of C that is = C F G

Song examples: La Bamba Ritchie Valens, Twist and shout The Beatles
Progression: I IV I V
In the key of G that is = G C G D
In the key of C that is = C F C G
Song examples: Free fallin Tom Petty, brown eyed girl Van Morrison
Progression: I vi IV V
In the key of G that is = G Em C D
In the key of C that is = C Am F G
Song examples: Stand by me Ben E King, Every breath you take Sting, Love hurts Everly Brothers
Progression: I V vi IV
Key of G = G D Em C
Key of C = C G Am F
Song examples: Youre beautiful James Blunt, Im yours Jason Mraz, With or without you U2
Progression: vi IV I V
Key of G = Em C G D
Key of C = Am F C G
Song examples: The other side RHCP, Zombie The Cranberries, One of us Joan Osbourne
Now write your own song with the help of these chord progressions. Have fun!
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