Circle of Fifths

DBA Circle of Fifths

Start on you root or key of the chord progression. To determine your I-IV V progression go one counter clockwise from the root; that is your IV chord. Then go one clockwise from the root; that is your V chord. To change keys in a song, determine the root chord and follow the previous procedure. The inner circle determines your minor chords from the root or in that key. The minor directly in from the root or key is the Relative minor or vi chord. Go one counterclockwise from the vi chord and you have the ii chord minor of the progression. Go one clockwise from the relative minor and you have the iii chord minor of the progression. The seventh chord in the progression is usually major in bluegrass. O your progression is I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-VII;  with I-IV-V always major and ii-iii-vi always minor. The seventh is Augmented or Diminished in theory but usually major in Bluegrass. The relative minor shares the same scale as the major root but starts on its own namesake. The staff lines show the key signature; starting with C, there are no sharps or flats. Going clockwise you gain and retain one more sharp that is in that keys scale, until you get to the bottom of the circle, F#. Same with going counterclockwise from C, but this time you gain Flats up until Gb. Clockwise is Circle of Fifths, counterclockwise is Wheel of Fourths. Always look at the Key Signature to determine that songs key, it’s not always the first chord.    –Jeff-