The Circle of Fifths

The circle of fifths is an arrangement of the 12 notes of western music in perfect fifths.  It helps us to understand the relationship of the various keys.

Looking at the notes of a scale on a keyboard, we see the letter names occur in alphabetical order.

This might lead us to conclude that the most closely related scales are those which begin on notes that are next to each other.  However, when you consider the scales of C major and B major, for example, you will see that they have very few notes in common.  What letter names do C major and B major have in common?

The scales which have the most notes in common with C major would be the scales with key signatures that are most similar to the key signature of C major - in this case the key signatures with the least number of sharps or flats, because C major has no sharps or flats.  The two scales that have these key signatures are?

What intervals separate these new key notes from C, remembering that you can find them both above AND below C?

Of course, the other scale which is closely related to C major is its RELATIVE minor (the scale that SHARES its key signature), in this case it is?

When music MODULATES (changes key), it can move anywhere on the circuit, but to do so, it is going to go past it’s immediate neighbours first, then past their neighbour’s neighbours, and so on.  That is, it will most likely travel around the circle of fifths in one direction or another.

Now, test this out on some music you are playing.  Trace it’s journey around the circuit.

Have a look at my previous post on identifying modulations and see how the circle of fifths relates to what is written here.

Here's our worksheet for this topic:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9JdpU-tw7FuaGZoRGF4YmtnREk/edit?usp=sharing