Is the circle of fifths overrated? DJs love it and it’s associated to the Camelot wheel for keeping track of songs that go together by key. The idea is pretty simple.
You take the first five degrees of a scale and that’s a fifth. Take the first five degrees of the note where you ended up, that’s also a fifth. What makes it a circle is the fact that if you do this over and over, you end up right back where you started.
The closer those notes are along that line, the more notes their respective keys have in common. And that’s what DJs like. Because when you mix two songs together, the crowd is happier when the keys match up.
Musicians like the circle of fifths because it allows them to move through all the keys in a way that feels more musical than just climbing up half step by half step. I don’t think most producers make beats by pulling the circle of fifths out of their bag of tricks, but I’d be hard pressed to think of a composer who’s not acutely aware of what is the five chord for any chord they’re playing. So overrated?
Sorry, you gotta decide that. I just wanted you to watch this post and learn something. If you did, like it and follow us.
And if someone who belongs in a Beat Kitchen class, share it.
