Difference between revisions of "Circle of Fifths"
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| + | So far we've really only talked about C Major and A minor, which are composed of the 7 white keys per octave on the piano. But scales can be built upon any of the 12 tones in the chromatic scale. We know the whole-half patterns of the major and minor scales, so we can figure out what notes any scale has, but what about the interrelation between scales? This is where the circle of fifths helps to keep things in perspective. | ||
| + | Let's look at the scales of F Major, C Major, and G Major: | ||
| + | |||
| + | F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F | ||
| + | C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C | ||
| + | G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G | ||
| + | |||
| + | F and C Major differ by only one note (C Major has a B while F Major has a Bb). Similarly, C and G also differ by one note (F vs. F#). Let's look at the whole-half patterns: | ||
| + | |||
| + | w w h w w w h | ||
| + | F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F | ||
| + | |||
| + | w w h w w w h w w h w w w h | ||
| + | C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C | ||
| + | |||
| + | w w h w w w h | ||
| + | G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G | ||
| + | |||
| + | The whole-half pattern from F to F in the key of C Major is w-w-w-h-w-w-h. If we flatten the 4th note, the B, we get w-w-h-w-w-w-h - the major scale pattern. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The whole-half pattern from G to G in the key of C Major is w-w-h-w-w-h-w. If we sharp the 7th note, the F, we get w-w-h-w-w-w-h - the major scale pattern. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Remember that F is a fifth below C and G is a fifth above. We notice that if we change the key by moving in fifths, only one note changes. While no two major scales will have different tonic notes but identical sets of notes, some scales are more ''inter-related'' or harmonic than others. | ||
Revision as of 16:00, 25 April 2014
So far we've really only talked about C Major and A minor, which are composed of the 7 white keys per octave on the piano. But scales can be built upon any of the 12 tones in the chromatic scale. We know the whole-half patterns of the major and minor scales, so we can figure out what notes any scale has, but what about the interrelation between scales? This is where the circle of fifths helps to keep things in perspective.
Let's look at the scales of F Major, C Major, and G Major:
F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
F and C Major differ by only one note (C Major has a B while F Major has a Bb). Similarly, C and G also differ by one note (F vs. F#). Let's look at the whole-half patterns:
w w h w w w h
F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F
w w h w w w h w w h w w w h
C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
w w h w w w h
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
The whole-half pattern from F to F in the key of C Major is w-w-w-h-w-w-h. If we flatten the 4th note, the B, we get w-w-h-w-w-w-h - the major scale pattern.
The whole-half pattern from G to G in the key of C Major is w-w-h-w-w-h-w. If we sharp the 7th note, the F, we get w-w-h-w-w-w-h - the major scale pattern.
Remember that F is a fifth below C and G is a fifth above. We notice that if we change the key by moving in fifths, only one note changes. While no two major scales will have different tonic notes but identical sets of notes, some scales are more inter-related or harmonic than others.