The Circle of Fifths - Minor Keys and Advanced Uses
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- Опубліковано 19 бер 2015
- You guys kept asking about the Circle of Fifths with Minor Keys and I realized it deserved it's own video. So here's why the normal circle of fifths doesn't cut it and how to used the advanced version.
If you missed the first one on the basic circle of fifths you can watch it here: • The Circle of Fifths -...
Hey Micheal, i ve been watching hundreds of theory videos on youtube and i gotta say you re by far the best instructor i ve ever seen in youtube but i really wish that you put more videos because they are very helpful and much better than other instructors, although i know most of the topics, you sum up really well and help me settle the topics,,thank you for existing man!! you re great!
Matt Sanders Thank you :) And I know... I need to get these out more often. I'm trying to ramp it up, I promise.
Everyone says The Best. They cannot all be the best. I was mostly lost on this vid...but that was not his fault- mine.
I've "tinkered" with piano all my life. I was 'taught' to read notes, cords, etc. Never knew ANY theory. I hit the wall for years and NOW, with the theory you are explaining, the lights are back on and I'm making progress with understanding more complex compositions, breaking them down and playing them without even having to read music.
I prefer not to read music any more anyway so this is fantastic. Keep up the good work. If you have more of the basics on video let me know. I'm not up to speed on the Tonic / sub- Tonic / Dominant / etc. practical applications just yet.
Hi Michael, great music pedagogy man.
I would like to mention the easiest way which we can figure out a key by looking at it's key signature on the music staff. This method will save a lot of time, because there is no longer a need to count the sharps or flats.
For key's with a sharp, we simply look at the sharp furthest to the right; the key is identified as the note half a step above. For instance, if it is an F# the key would be G.
For flat keys we look at the flat note which is furthest to the right. The note on the left of that would be our key. For instance, in Eb we would have a Bb furthest right; on the immediate left is Bb-therefore Bb is our scale.
I would also like to inform those who are students of theory here, we can use the circle of fifths to determine every diatonic note within a key.
Just as we can move 1 circle degree clockwise to determine the fifth, we can determine the other notes.
Move 2 circle degrees clockwise from the scale tonic on the circle to determine the 2nd degree of the key(supertonic).
Move 3 circle degrees clockwise to determine the 6th degree (submediant/relative minor).
We move 4 degrees to the wise to determine the 3rd degree (mediant).
We move 5 degrees clockwise to determine the 7th degree (leading tone).
And we would move counterclockwise 1 circle degree to determine our 4th degree (subdominant) of the scale.
Remember though, as we move to from a natural tonic note clockwise; flat notes become their enharmonic equivalent Gb becomes F# for example.
We can also use the circle to determine our pentatonic scale for a given key. For instance, in the key of C, we would look at the 4 circle degrees clockwise of our chosen key. This also works when using a natural minor circle of fifths, to determine the minor pentatonic.
Now, many people don't realize that we can pull modes from the circle as well.
Let's use G Mixolydian for example, which has one lowered degree and is diatonic to the relative key of C. We would simply skip past (C) the circle degree immediately counterclockwise, showing us that in place of F#, F belongs to G Mixolydian.
Next we will look at D Dorian, also diatonic to the key of C; but with two lowered degrees (minor third and minor 7th in relation to D Major). We still skip (G) the circle degree immediately counterclockwise. But now we need to lower two notes by half a degree each. So we get C(lowered 7th) and F(lowered 3rd).
So on and so forth for Aeolian (3 lowered notes), Phrygian (4 lowered notes), and Locrians (5 lowered notes).
If we were to use the scale to determine the Lydian mode (with an augmented 4th)of a given key, we could look 180 degrees from the key. For instance C major would have (F#) 180 degrees from it, while keeping all other notes.
This method of mode deduction also works for advanced scales, such as a natural minor key which we give a Lydian feel by augmenting the fourth up 1/2 a step.
At some point, this stuff becomes second nature for a dedicated musician. Until then< take these tips and add them to your understanding.
Great stuff again Michael, you teach well.
+Anthony John Interesting comment !
+Stienis ;-)
Thank you for this. Great insight.
that's a quite complete breakdown of all the advanced uses the circle might offer, much more in depth than the video presented might i add. i never realized you could figure out minor or major pentatonic so easily (or penta blues for that matter, simply by adding a tritone/blue note which is directly in front of the root)
i dont think im there with the modes yet but its something worth keeping in mind.
also, if you could add some details as to why it is important to memorize how many flats or sharp is in each key. i get the feeling that it might be something that's very useful to people who read/use sheet music only. i don't know.
I'm a music student that fell way out of practice, and your channel is such a massive help in the way of getting back on track. Massive thanks.
Keep it up, Michael. I've been playing music a long time, and I've never learned as much as I have with you. You're amazing. Thank you for doing this!
Michael, I've watched so many videos about the Circle of Fifths and yours is really the best. I almost didn't watch it because there are so many around... but I'm really glad I did. You somehow made it so easy to understand the importance of it - and how to use it. Thank you for putting out these videos - can't wait to watch the others. Boris
Great job, man! Very simply explained ... You have the gift that makes the great teachers tick. Keep up the good work.
I'm a guitarist that's been getting into the study of music theory the past couple of years.
I find your channel one of my faves, I LOVE my studies and learn a LOT from you.
Thanks for sharing your work ... inspiring bro !
"Arranging a song" and "more about composing" sound nice :)
Glad you're back making videos!
No mnemonic for the minor circle? The mnemonic you used on the major circle was priceless!
The notes are still in the same order, as they still have the same relationships, they're just shifted a quarter turn counter-clockwise.
His mnemonic was awesome. It was a total Aha moment!! Another teacher also mentioned that the word BEAD is on both sides. Between those two tips I've finally started to memorize the notes, and more importantly, how the circle works. Thank you so much Michael.
@@jackh577
For refference, BEAD is also 7th fret of the guitar or bass in standard EADGBE tuning.
The 5ths are 4152637 (C being one) which is the order of the classical planets from earth centric perspective when put into 5ths which is the order of the days of the week if you look at the Latin.
Moon-1-monday-Lunae
Mercury-2-wednesday-Mercuraii
Venus-3-friday-Veneris
Sun-4-sunday-Solis
Mars-5-tuesday-Martis
Jupiter-6-thursday-Jovis
Saturn-7-saturday-Saturni
4152637= sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday in the classical order of planets (they thought Mercury was closer than Venus I guess)
4152637 is F-C-G-D-A-E-B (CDEFGAB)
Now figure out 8675309.
I'm so lucky to have found your videos. I'm grateful to know realize how much information is in the circle of fifths. Thank you!
It's really nice to see you making videos again -- your video series taught me most of the music theory I know, and really got me started on (and interested in) learning the keyboard. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on hand position (ie, does it matter which notes you press with which fingers), and how to balance or practice doing different things with your left hand than your right one.
Getting this tattooed on my forearm, literally.
Ramsey Adam Clark pics
im thinking about this too, probly on the right forearm so I can glance at it while picking haha
Man I was just thinking that before I read your comment.
The relative minor with it's Sharps and Flats is the 6th note in its relative Majors key. A quick fix is just subtract 2 from the Major key and you have the relative minor, but that won't tell you the sharps and flats alone. You can do it in your head
@@whatabouttheearth thank u, that is a great info...
You have done an amazing job explaining this bro, I dont know what they were doing differently back when I was at school... but this has seriously filled in some gaps!
Thank you a great deal Michael!
This has really helped me to get a deeper understanding of the circle of fifths, how to build both major and minor cords, 7th chords, I have gotten a better understanding of how to spell the different scales and I have in general gotten a better understanding of Music Theory!
Thank you, I greatly and truly appreciate it!
Keep up the great work, stay awesome and never give up :) I wish you the best of luck, happiness and prosperity, and I do hope that you keep uploading more of these astonishing and great educational videos! Take care!
This is fantastic! I never was very motivated to learn any of theory beyond basic keys, but seeing this is incredibly motivating. I didn't realize how practical the circle of fifths actually is. Thank you for this!
These lectures are the definitive guide to music theory. I can read sheet music, but this is my first serious foray into theory and you were a God-send. Really well done.
great videos. Thank you so much. I spent so much money on learning chords in private music classes but none of them could explain it so simple to understand !
Man, your channel is a gold mine!!! 💕
I know I'm not saying anything new here, but your videos are so helpful I feel compelled to leave my first ever youtube comment. Over the years, I've frequently scoured youtube for theory help, and I've never come across lessons this clear and succinct. I'm easily grasping these concepts in a complete way for the first time after years of frustrating attempts. Thank you and please keep posting these awesome vids!
I never learned how to write music, i always just went with “that sounds good, lets do that“... I now understand what I'm doing and why it works, Thanks for that :D
You do such a great job...in a word, awesome! I'm really learning from you, you pull things together nicely. Personally, I'd vote for changing keys or more on chords (i.e. suspended).
I had to subscribe to your channel, your tutorials are just to good man; thank you and keep up the good work!
thanks so much for this amazing lesson! you're a really great teacher. you're doing a great thing in this world helping so many people :)
What i find really fascinating about all this is that the modern approach to learning guitar/bass for most people has been tablature. While you do notice some patterns, lots of two fret differences typically give you some tools for grooving but that reliance doesn't tell you how or why they go together,and it is easy to get dependant on that and you use the formula and put wrong notes in the key and make it gross. Even learning a scale on a guitar, a major or minor key looks and feels the same anywhere on the guitar, and that makes it really easy to get shape oriented, leaving your theory and ear behind.
I was learning tabs for awhile, just learning my dad rock and funk and watching tutorials, and i as a result have a super underdeveloped ear. Playing a song note for note is fine and all, but i find music is the most fun when you are influenced by the bands direction it spontaneously takes. I try and jam with a lot of my advanced jazz friends, and i have no idea where we are in terms of keys, or chords to progress to. Like i'll hear it go up or down but i can't translate and know what note that is on the bass. i have my major mode shapes memorized and aside from the diminshed, harmonic, and melodic modes, but when i jam with people i find that knowledge essentially useless if i can't hear what's being played and play along.
hey michael! thanks so much for these video, they are some of the best ones out there!
Hi Michael, these are some very clearly illustrated and helpful videos; thanks! One minor suggestion - turn up the volume. Looking forward to more videos, cheers!
Keep on trucking Micheal good job your the only person in the world that can teach modes. more modes please and spelling out the diminished chords on the scales is massive Thanks Jimmy.
You are so good and make learning music doable. Thank you
Awesome stuff..Appreciate
your effort..you have made it easy..keep posting...thank you.
These videos are so clear and useful.
You clear the concepts really well Thankyou 🍾
Luv your vids Michael. Very helpful. Thanks
though I've noticed you can find your minor 3rd by finding the root note on the inner wheel and then looking at the relative major to that minor (ie. the note in the same position on the outer wheel)
FaerieKim I heard that from a different instructor
I love your channel and I love these videos. Please keep them coming!
Thanks man, I'll do my best!
Good stuff Michael! nice video well done. Thanks for sharing good music knowledge.
Thank you, Michael for explanation.
Your awesome in the way you explain it all!
Nicely done. Very glad you tackled the minor circle as I tend to compose most of my music in minor keys. Solid video and as far as future suggestions I'd love any more info on the circle of fifths. Perhaps some more examples of using it in the context of composing a tune. Thanks Michael! Solid job.
Yeah I tend to compose in minor keys as well. And I do think it would be nice to cover some real world examples with the circle of fifths; I'm thinking that a video on changing keys might be a good way to do that.
great explanation..thanks very much michael.
Thanks so much !!!!!! I truly appreciate your video, it is so helpful and I am so happy to find this information, it will help me soooo much!
Thanks! I would like to see a video explaining modes and how they relate to parent scales and corresponding chords.
The topic of modes is definitely moving up the list. Tough subject though; it may take me a while to really get my thoughts organized.
Thank you so much. Awesome stuff!
great explanation thank you michael!
Thanks for a clear explanation of a complex topic.
This is great thanks... You can choose random nice or interesting song and explain whats happen there, or how to think about that analysis.
Excellent explanation! Thanks :)
GOOD thanks This was very helpful as to why the major and minors were related.
YOURE BACK
This is the best video I've ever seen.
Another fantastic tutorial
This is very clear - thanks.
As a non-musician, hobbiest, I come at this from a different angle. It might be too simple for some but for what it's worth and in case it helps others here is what I noticed.
Using the Circle of 5th's, everything is the same for Minor Chords- to figure out what to play (not transpose necessarily.) The only concession is the 3rd and 7th are flat relative to the Major Scale. Since most Cof5ths focus on the major scale, you can still use that diagram- just when it comes to again, the 3rd, and 7th degrees of the scale and associated chords, you just flat them (why they are minor- the letter may change given the whole one sharp is the next letter but flat thing.) Again, this may be off topic, or too simple, but I am a very simple person. If it gets too complicated it soars over my head. At least this helps me to be able to actually find things and play.
Using a easy to remember Mnemonic I made really helped me as well to know what chords to play in any given key. To me, this is the value of the Circle of Fifths. I used the letters on the circle...BEADGCF. Then for flats, I use the same one recalling that FLATS are represented by the same letter, a little "b." Or you can reverse it e.g., FCGDAEB. You can find popular mnemonics for this all over online.
Stack Music Exchange also offers a nice diagram (not circle) that shows the KEY CHORD CHART of both major and minor. Comparing that with the Wheel makes it clear. Going deep with the theory is great and can benefit more musician types. I am clearly not a musician. I think most people like me just wanna be able to strum their fiddles! Good video though- a bit over my head but you got me thinking which I think I hate you for- but thanks! 🤭🤭🤭
Just found your site, nice! I'm learning to use GarageBand.
I noticed that when you add the circle of minor keys, you now can pull off the chords directly. The iii note is directly under the V note; e.g. D F# A or Eb G Bb or Ab C Eb.
Concerning future videos - changing between keys is definitely a thing worth paying attention to. Also a crazy idea like this - what about sharing some techniques on the ways how to better fit your melody into chords (of course, if such things exist), cause sometimes this process may turn out to be a really time-consuming one. btw, your vid's been useful just as usual)
It's hard to tackle topics like making a melody fit a chord progression since it's so open ended, but of course it's still a really important subject. I think I might do a few that deal with simpler things, like changing keys, and then build up to a multi-part series on working with melodies and chords together. I'd love to do something like that but I'd want to really cover it thoroughly.
***** well, that's a really cool direction to move in) the main thing that you have great ideas on your mind) i'll be waiting for new videos)
Hey Michael, I run a group for musicians, and some of them asked me about the circle of fifths. You mind if I just sent them to your videos to watch. This one and the first are possibly the best explanations I've seen.
Thanks a lot, this is very helpful.
brilliant job! thanks.
hey man I really like the way you explain things keep makin videos
Great lesson!
After watching the two videos, I printed a circle of fifths and made a clock out of it.
That's a great idea!
"What time is it?" "G MAJOR MINOR SHARP 7TH OCTAVE 4 + 2 STEPS BACK AND 9TH"
Anders from workaholics, found your lesson very helpful thank you!
looks and even sounds like him loool
Thanks for your teach how to figure out the Circle Fifth.
very simple and helpful
Thanks Mike. 👍
love the videos., thanks
Thank you!
amazing!!
Thanks for making this video. I wish would you share some easy tips, such as noting that the relative minor is 3 spokes ahead on the wheel. (This is because the relative minor, 9 semitones away, is the same pitch interval as 9+12=21, which is 7x3.) There is also a way to know the 'middle' note of the major chord, the major 3rd, by jumping 4 spokes ahead. (This is because 4 spokes is 28 semitones, which is the same pitch as 28-24 = 4 semitones, a major 3rd). Same argument applies for locating a minor third, which is 2 spokes back. So for a major chord, it's the starting point, its next neighbor, and one 4 spokes down; and for the minor chord, it's the starting point, its next neighbor, and the one 2 spokes back.
A simplified way to remembering the minor circle is- just add +4 to the current key you are on and that would its relative minor
For Ex- C, Starting from C add +4 to it you get A so Am, For D, add +4 you land on B and that is your relative minor and so on. GO clockwise and you would be at ease.
Love your advice as always, great explanations easy to understand. I also liked how your cat was perfectly still the entire time. He must be very advanced at his music theory.
I swear every time I turn the camera on he jumps up on that couch and just sits there. I'm pretty sure he thinks these videos are all about him.
*****
hahaha he's a star! anyways, good stuff. looking forward to more. maybe you could do a video on Jazz chord progressions? or a series?
Grant Norwood I'd love to cover some jazz at some point. That gets pretty dense though; maybe it would work better as a series. I'll have to start thinking about that.
***** Yeah man, I think you could explain some of the jazz progressions well. Map out a plan for a series!
Grant Norwood Alright, well it's officially on my Trello board now :)
Great video. Of course, you can get to the relative minor by going to the sixth note of the relative major scale.
This fellow is using the Circle of Fifths as originally designed in 1728. Since then it has never changed. Unfortunately using this circle forces you to explain dominant to tonic harmonic motion in counterclockwise fashion. I proposed years ago that the circle should array in the opposite direction so dominant motion is clockwise. In that way 12 o'clock resolves to 1 o'clock. Also, the diatonic cycle in C can be observed to move clockwise at these hours: 12 -1-10-11-12-1-11-12 by moving from the outer circle to the inner circle and back again. C - F - Bo - Em -Am - Dm - G - C. Distance around the circle tells you relative harmonic distance. For example, C and F# are six hours apart and have virtually nothing to do with each other. On the other hand, G, C, and F are next to each other and are closely related as the primary triads in C.
The relative minor with it's Sharps and Flats is the 6th note in its relative Majors key. A quick fix is just subtract 2 from the Major key and you have the relative minor, but that won't tell you the sharps and flats alone.
awesome!
Great videos! Would love to learn more about composing and improvisation eg. How to play in a particular key without it sounding boring, modulation, and the whole tension/resolution concept. Thanks so much!
Ha, so just everything that's hard to teach then? :P I'll see what I can do. Thanks!
well if anyone's capable of it i'm sure you are! i really enjoyed your original compositions so maybe a tutorial on the whole creative process you undertake when composing yourself?
Jack Wilkinson You know that might be a pretty cool idea. I'll start thinking about that.
Thanks, I think I got it for the first time even though I read a lot about it. In connection with the first video.
Thanks this video is very helpful
Very useful
Great stuff. Thanks. How about a video on how to approach impro for a particular number?
Useful!
Dude you rock
Hi Michael - thank you! Trying to clear my thinking - the minor scales would be the same as the Aeolian scale - starting on the 6th tone - where through the entire 8 tones the scale formula would then be W-H-H (W) H-W-W
W = whole steps
H = half steps
Definitely continue your series on how to write music. Teach me how to compose a song and how harmony works. Do ALL the things. :D
Ha, well I'll see about doing all the things. It may take a while though :)
We're a patient bunch. ALL THE THINGS! Can't help but smiling when I think of all the good things to come.
Definitely wouldn't mind some videos explaining how to apply all that theory in improvisation and composition. Blank page (keys?) syndrome. Stuff on fingering, hand coordination maybe? Well you know what we need better than us :)
I like how you can use the circle of fifths to easily figure out major and minor chords as well.
Just find your root note on the circle, 4 notes clockwise is your minor third, 3 counter clockwise is your major third. Then of course the 5th is only one note clockwise from the root note.
Bob Shrader Not quite, unless I'm not understanding your formula correctly. It is the Aeolian mode and it does start on the 6th when you're comparing it to the major scale, but the intervals would be W-H-W-W-H-W-W. Does that make sense?
THANKS
great!
Michael, if you do a video on how this whole thing can be put into action,for example to make a chord progression a minor one to work perfectly with these relations,that would be awesome. Everyone comes for it but always we get only theory and when we start making a progression based on these things we get stuck.If anyone thinks the same thumbs up cuz we got our teacher now :))))))))
+Alter Wido Lately I've been moving more towards "applied theory", if you want to call it that, so I'll definitely be thinking about it.
Thanks
dude I don't know how old is the video. but you r really very good( i think great is a better word). dude help me with using various chords to make a song.
Don't forget, when looking at the major circle, that c, g, d, a, e, b and f# all also have a Bb# - important info you can't do music without
Hey,
I'd love to see a video on harmonies and incorporating them into the melody.
Thanks for the great videos.
zac schmidt It's not quite the same thing, but I did a video on fitting a melody to a chord progression a while back: ua-cam.com/video/-E1kpWZPEuA/v-deo.html
+Michael New I did watch it and it was helpful. But I was hoping to expand on that and see how I could add a harmony on top of the melody using a third or a fifth. I guess my ultimate question is this, and lets use your melody you played for the C maj; if I wanted to add a third to it would I transpose every note up a third or could I transpose the C maj scale up a third and use that scale to play over the original melody.
I hope that makes some sense? Thanks again for taking the time to answer comments and questions.
zac schmidt Ah okay, I get what you're asking now. Yes, that would be a great topic to cover. The short answer, for now, is that you'd transpose each note up a third, but you'd have to be careful about which ones are minor thirds and which ones are major thirds. It really the same concept as fitting chords into a key. In fact you can think of a harmony as a small fragment of a chord.
Again, thanks #MichaelNew it helped me a lot
Michael thanks for putting this together, I wasn't aware of the circle of fifths until I watched both your videos. Are there any other simple concepts that you can recommend looking into?
+Simon Maslaveckas There's quite a few that are pretty interesting, but I think one of the most underrated concepts is the whole idea of chord tones and non-chord tones: ua-cam.com/video/-E1kpWZPEuA/v-deo.html
Thanks mate helped a lot +Michael New
Could you make a video on altered chords. This video was amazing and made simple, and that is what I need to understand those.
+vortex4044 I'll definitely put altered chords on the list.
Awesome! Thanks for replying so soon.
Easier to remember if you know the relative minor is always the vi (6th note). Or subtract 2 from tonic
Hey guys,
There is a slight mistake by Michael at 8:03. The fifth chord of Gm would be Dm, and not a D. Just wanted to clarify it! :)
Regards,
Hope you all have a wonderful day!
Hey Michael. I think your music theory lessons are the crispest (it's a word...) on
UA-cam. Could you tell me what program you use/connect to your midi keyboard? It's got a nice natural piano sound to me. Keep up the good work!
+Patrick Carroll I'm using a software piano called Virtual Grand Piano 2 by Art Vista, and I'm using LPX for my DAW. I'm actually not sure if they're selling that software piano anymore, so you'd have to look.