Music Theory in the DAW
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The circle of fifths is a fundamental tool in music theory that illustrates the relationships between the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys. It originated from the work of composers and theorists in the Baroque period who sought a systematic way to understand and navigate key relationships in Western music. By arranging the 12 pitches in a circle, each a perfect fifth apart, musicians created a visual and conceptual map that highlights how keys are interconnected through shared notes and harmonic relationships.
Going clockwise, the notes jump in intervals of fifths, while counter-clockwise motion jumps in intervals of fourths. For this reason, you could also call it the Circle of Fourths, but we have a preference for clockwise and right-ward movement in our culture for Fifths wins. The fifth is also called the Dominant (in a scale) so it just sorta dominates the name of the circle, too :)
The circle of fifths is a visual tool that organizes the 12 chromatic pitches in a circular layout, highlighting the relationships between different keys. In this diagram, there are typically two concentric circles: the outer circle lists the major keys, while the inner circle displays the minor keys. Each minor key on the inner circle is positioned adjacent to its relative major key on the outer circle.
These adjacent keys are called relative major and minor because they share the same key signature but have different tonal centers. For instance, C major and A minor are relative keys; both have no sharps or flats in their key signatures. This arrangement makes it easy for musicians to identify and transition between keys that are harmonically related, facilitating smoother modulations and a better understanding of key relationships in composition and performance.
Practically speaking, the circle of fifths serves multiple purposes. For composers and songwriters, it provides a roadmap for modulating between keys, crafting chord progressions, and developing harmonic complexity in their music. For electronic music producers, who often work with digital audio workstations and synthesizers, the circle of fifths is especially useful for creating coherent and pleasing progressions, designing bass lines that complement chord structures, and layering harmonies that enhance the overall texture of a track. It helps producers make informed decisions about which chords and keys will work well together, thus streamlining the creative process.
Using the circle of fifths involves understanding its layout and applying it to composition and improvisation. Starting at any key on the circle, moving clockwise adds a sharp to the key signature with each step, while moving counterclockwise adds a flat.
This progression allows musicians to anticipate which keys are closely related and can be seamlessly integrated into their music. By following the circle, producers can experiment with chord substitutions, explore secondary dominants, and create tension and release in their compositions.
The acoustic basis of the circle of fifths lies in the physics of sound and the harmonic series. A perfect fifth is one of the most consonant intervals after the octave, with a frequency ratio of 3:2. This natural resonance is why the sequence of fifths forms a foundational structure in Western music. The circle encapsulates this by organizing keys in a way that reflects these inherent acoustic relationships, making it not just a theoretical construct but a reflection of how we perceive harmony and tonality.
Understanding the circle of fifths enriches a musician’s ability to craft music that is both theoretically sound and emotionally engaging. It bridges the gap between the technical aspects of music theory and the practical needs of modern music production, offering a timeless resource that continues to be relevant in various musical genres and practices.
A Quick Way to View a Scale’s Chord Degrees (except Dim Chords)
A quick and efficient way to use the Circle of Fifths to find all the non-diminished chords in a major or minor key is to observe the positioning of chords around the tonic. In any key, the Circle of Fifths presents a visual layout that allows you to identify all the major and minor chords in that key, except for the diminished chord, with minimal effort. For example, if you start from C major in the center of the circle (since the tonic is typically in the middle), you can find the other chord degrees simply by moving left, right, up, and down from the tonic.
In the case of C major, the tonic is C major. If you move one space to the left on the circle, you’ll find F major, the IV chord in the key of C major. Move one space to the right, and you’ll find G major, the V chord. Now, if you move downward into the inner ring (which represents the minor chords), you’ll encounter A minor, the vi chord. If you move left and down, you’ll reach D minor, the ii chord, and if you move right and down, you’ll find E minor, the iii chord. These movements reveal all of the major and minor chords in the key of C major: C major, F major, G major, A minor, D minor, and E minor.
This method works universally in any key on the Circle of Fifths. You can pick any tonic, whether major or minor, and by applying the same pattern of movement, you will easily identify all of the non-diminished chords in that key. Essentially, you can draw a circle around six neighboring notes (three on the major outer ring and three on the minor inner ring) surrounding the tonic, and these will represent all the non-diminished chords in the key. The diminished chord, which is not captured by this movement, lies just outside this simple “circle” of six chords. This approach provides a fast and intuitive way to visualize the harmonic structure of any key.
A cadence in music is a sequence of chords that brings a phrase, section, or piece to a sense of resolution and closure. It often involves the final chord in a progression or the transition from the final chord back to the first chord when the music repeats or moves to a new section. Cadences function like punctuation in language, signaling pauses, endings, or continuations, and they play a crucial role in establishing the key or tonality of a piece.
The Circle of Fifths is a valuable tool for identifying chords that can create effective cadences, as it visually represents the relationships between keys and their corresponding chords. In the key of C minor, you might aim to resolve back to a C minor chord to provide a sense of completion. By referring to the Circle of Fifths, you can find chords adjacent to C minor that naturally lead back to it, enhancing the harmonic flow of your progression.
For example, resolving from G minor to C minor utilizes the relationship between the dominant (v) and the tonic (i) in the key of C minor. While in minor keys, the dominant chord is often a major chord (G major in this case), using G minor offers a softer resolution. Similarly, moving from F minor (the subdominant, iv) to C minor creates a plagal cadence, providing a smooth and contemplative transition.
Chords like B♭ major and A♭ major, which are adjacent to C minor on the Circle of Fifths in the major key circle, can also lead effectively back to C minor. B♭ major (the VII chord in C minor) can resolve to C minor, offering an alternative to the typical dominant-tonic progression. A♭ major (the VI chord) can move to F minor before resolving to C minor or directly lead back to the tonic, adding richness to the harmonic progression.
Using the Circle of Fifths to identify these adjacent chords helps in crafting cadences that sound coherent and satisfying, thanks to the strong harmonic relationships. This approach assists composers and musicians in developing chord progressions that effectively reinforce the key and provide a clear sense of resolution.
Additionally, when creating cadences, you’re not restricted to using only the basic triadic versions of chords. You can explore a range of chord extensions and alterations within the same chord family to add depth and nuance to your progression. For example, when resolving from G minor to C minor in your cadence, the G minor chord can be expanded into several related chords such as G minor 7 (G–B♭–D–F), G minor 9 (G–B♭–D–F–A), or G minor 11 (G–B♭–D–F–A–C). Each of these chords shares the same root note (G) and minor quality but includes additional tones that introduce subtle variations in harmony and tension.
These chords form a family because they are built upon the same foundation — the G minor triad — but incorporate extended intervals like the 7th, 9th, and 11th degrees of the scale. The added notes enrich the harmonic texture and can create smoother voice leading to the C minor chord. For instance, the inclusion of the 7th (F) in G minor 7 can smoothly descend to the E♭ in the C minor chord, enhancing the sense of resolution.
Choosing from these chord variations instead of the basic triad allows you to tailor the emotional and harmonic impact of your cadence. Extended chords can introduce greater tension or a more complex emotional character, making the eventual resolution to the tonic chord more satisfying. They also provide additional options for voice leading, which is the smooth movement of individual melodic lines between chords. By employing chords like G minor 7 or G minor 9, you can create more intricate and expressive progressions that add sophistication to your music.
It’s also worth noting that in traditional harmonic practice, especially in minor keys, the dominant chord is often altered to include the leading tone to strengthen the resolution to the tonic. In the key of C minor, the leading tone is B natural, so the dominant chord frequently used is G major (G–B–D) or G7 (G–B–D–F). This chord can be further extended or altered to include tones like the flat 9th or sharp 5th (e.g., G7♭9, G7♯5), adding dissonance that resolves compellingly to C minor.
By exploring these extended and altered chords within the chord family, you enhance the harmonic richness of your progression. This approach allows you to create cadences that are not only theoretically sound but also emotionally resonant, providing a more engaging and dynamic musical experience.
How NOT to Find a Cadence with the Circle of Fifths
It is important to note that you would not typically move from E♭ major to C minor when creating a cadence in C minor. In the Circle of Fifths, chords or notes stacked directly above and below each other represent relative major and minor keys — in this case, E♭ major is the relative major of C minor. While these keys share the same key signature, moving between them does not produce the harmonic tension and resolution that cadences aim to achieve. Therefore, when working out a cadence, the chords directly above or below your tonic chord on the Circle of Fifths are generally ignored, as they do not effectively function as a preceding chord leading back to the tonic.
When crafting cadences, it’s more effective to focus on chords that are adjacent horizontally on the Circle of Fifths. These chords have stronger harmonic relationships with the tonic and can create the desired sense of resolution. By selecting chords like G minor or F minor (from the minor circle) or B♭ major or A♭ major (from the major circle), you leverage these strong relationships to enhance the cadence and reinforce the key of C minor.
Modulating between two keys using the circle of fifths involves creating a smooth transition by leveraging the relationships between closely related keys. For example, let’s say you are composing a piece in C major and wish to modulate to E major. These two keys are not adjacent on the circle of fifths and have different key signatures — C major has no sharps or flats, while E major has four sharps. A direct modulation might sound abrupt due to the sudden change in tonality. To make the transition smoother, you can use a bridging section that passes through intermediary keys that are adjacent on the circle of fifths.
Starting in C major, you can move to G major, which is one step clockwise on the circle and introduces one sharp (F#). This key is closely related to C major and shares many common tones, making the first step of the modulation subtle. From G major, you can then progress to D major, adding another sharp (C#), and continue this pattern by moving to A major (introducing G#) before finally arriving at E major. Each step introduces one additional sharp, allowing the listener’s ear to gradually acclimate to the new key signature.
In practical terms, you might construct a chord progression that reflects this journey: starting with a C major chord, moving to G major, then to D major, A major, and finally settling on E major. Each chord serves as a pivot to the next key, using shared tones to maintain a sense of cohesion. For instance, the move from G major to D major is smooth because both keys share the note D, and the introduction of the C# in D major creates a sense of forward motion.
This method takes advantage of the acoustic basis of the circle of fifths, where moving clockwise adds sharps and introduces keys that are harmonically related. By using chords common to both the current and the target keys, the bridging section creates a seamless modulation. The listener perceives the key change as a natural evolution rather than a jarring shift.
This technique is particularly useful when crafting tracks that require gradual shifts in mood or intensity. By applying the circle of fifths, you can design chord progressions and bass lines that smoothly transition between different sections of a piece. This is especially effective in genres like trance or progressive house, where building and releasing tension is key to the musical experience.
Understanding how to use the circle of fifths for modulation allows you to expand your compositional toolbox. It provides a structured yet flexible approach to exploring new tonal landscapes, enhancing the emotional depth of your music while maintaining harmonic coherence. By thoughtfully planning your bridging sections, you can guide your audience through a captivating musical journey that feels both intentional and evocative.
The video at the bottom of this article shows four ways to use the circle of fifths, which I’ll summarize with some screenshots from the video.
- Treat the letters as notes. This helps with working out chords for those notes, by following a ‘recipe’ for traversing the circle depending on whether you are wanting to get a major or minor chord. For a major triad, start with an outer Maj note as the root, dip down and clockwise to grab the third in the minor circle, and go back up to the major ring clockwise to grab the fifth of the triad. For a minor chord, start with the root in the minor circle, go out to the major ring to grab the third of the triad, then to counterclockwise back to the minor ring to grab the fifth of the triad.
2. Read the letters as root notes of chords, for developing chord progressions. In this method, choosing adjacent chords, clockwise or counterclockwise around a root/tonic chord will give you three chords that will always sound good together. For example, sticking with Cmaj above, progressing from Cmaj to either Gmaj or Fmaj and from there to the other chord you didn’t select : ) will give a nice set of three chords that work well together. In the video these are called Sister Chords:
But we can also work with the minor chords below these three Sister Chords, which are minor and therefore called Cousin Chords:
The idea is to draw upon the Cousin Chords to throw into the progression to ‘spice things up’ because hey, what’s spicier than adding some cousins into the mix?? But given the genetic differences between sisters and cousins, you usually want to have more sisters and fewer cousins but still somehow keep yourself off the therapist’s couch, unless of course the therapist is your cousin or sister.
Note that technically, as you start combining Sisters and Cousins, you may get a few notes that go beyond the zone of three adjacent notes, but in this context, that’s just more chordal spiciness — note how below, the d note is a bit out of bounds, but still close enough, so let’s call it a Half Cousin Note:
3. Identifying the Relative Keys (major/minor relative). Here ‘relative’ doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as Sister or Cousin but rather knowing which minor key is the relative of the associated major key and vice versa. This can be useful for modulating between keys, which the nice guy in the video below says can help with developing a music track’s ‘middle eight section.’ If you don’t know what a middle eight section is, here’s what ChatGPT has to say about it:
A “middle eight” is a term used in popular music to refer to a section in the middle of a song, typically eight bars long, that contrasts with the main structure of the song, such as the verses and the chorus. Its purpose is to provide variety and often offers a departure from the repetitive elements, giving the listener something new before returning to the familiar sections of the song.
Here are some characteristics of a middle eight section:
Contrast: The middle eight often features different chords, melodies, or rhythms, providing contrast to the verses and choruses.
Short Duration: As the name suggests, it is usually eight bars in length, although it can vary.
Placement: It generally appears about two-thirds of the way through the song.
Purpose: It often serves to build tension, create a shift in mood, or introduce a new perspective or emotional angle, before resolving back to the main sections of the song.
In modern music, the middle eight might also be referred to as the bridge, though not all bridges are middle eights (and not all middle eights are exactly eight bars). It is often used to maintain listener interest by breaking the song’s structure and keeping it dynamic.
4. Writing Melodies. Above we have discussed developing a family of related chords out of relationships between sister and cousin and half-cousin notes and chords. If we use the circle and go from the tonic/root along the circle four more places (grabbing five degrees in total), we get some notes that will work well for melodic lines in any order. These can be considered to be the ‘power’ or ‘jamming’ notes because you can jam along with these special notes as the chord progression plays to get very usable melodic lines that work well with the progressions. This works in any key, because this is the Circle of Fifths after all!
Now that you’ve had a spicy saucy family tour of note and chord relatives, here’s the whole video so you can make better sense of all these heady mixed metaphors: