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168 | The Circle of Thirds (Ionian)
chord relationships in a major key
November 27, 2022
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Musicians talk alot -- although not as much as they should -- about the Circle of FIFTHS, a powerful diagram for understanding chords in all keys and the relationships between them.

But what about the Circle of THIRDS? What is it ... and how does it work?

In a nutshell, the Circle of Thirds depicts how the chords within a single key are connected. To illustrate, here are the seven chords in the Key of C (a.k.a. the "C Ionian mode"):

As you can see, each chord is derived from the same source scale -- in this case, the C major scale (shown along the top).

  • C major (the major "I" chord) is played by starting on scale degree 1 and combining every other note (C, E, G)
  • D minor (the minor "ii" chord) starts on scale degree 2
  • E minor (the minor "iii" chord) starts on scale degree 3
  • And so on ... to form 7 distinct harmonies

This is useful information because it explains how each chord is created. But if you look closely, there's a special pattern that forms connecting all of the chords in a powerful way.

And that is, when you follow the "every other" pattern that forms a single chord, and continue the sequence, you get an alternating wave of major-third and minor-third intervals, like this:

This sequence alternates through all 7 harmonies in the key -- beginning with C major (I) ... which shares notes with E minor (iii) ... which, in turn, shares notes with G major (V) ... etc., until the pattern returns to C major (I) once again.

Some of the tertian intervals are major-thirds (black lines) while others are minor-thirds (white lines). And the order of these intervals results in the different types of chords that form -- including major triads, minor triads, and a diminished triad.

This pattern repeats because music is inherently cyclical, which we can show by depicting this same sequence of chords in a loop like this:

And as you can see, because of how each triad shares notes, these 7 chords form a seamless, daisy-chain pattern like this:

These relationships between chords -- the way they interconnect, and how they are arranged within a given key -- is powerful. Because these connections inform the kinds of chord progressions you can create. How the harmonies naturally flow together as you craft cool songs, as I explain in detail in the full theory course (found in the content playlists).

But these are only the relationships between chords in the Key of C. What's cool is that these same relationships -- these same consistent connections -- appear in every key, as the next illustrations show....

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216 | Introducing the ChordMap

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211 | Updates Live Stream

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No Live Stream Tonight

Heads up -- I will not be streaming on YouTube tonight as previously planned. As you know, my studio involves a lot of equipment, and I need to do a couple of things to make sure I can go live over there as here on Locals.

I'll post an update here when that live stream is scheduled. 🤘

ChordMap Live Stream - Sunday

Hey! Join me for a live stream today (Sunday, May 28) @ 5:00 p.m., UTC. We will:
-- take a look at the new ChordMap
-- explore how to navigate the circle of fifths
-- and walk through a great song example using this tool

See you then!

You can get your ChordMap here: https://shop.mycolormusic.com/products/colormusic-chordmap-circle-of-fifths-tool

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Hi! Can I find somewhere a pdf with the mega pattern with circle of fifths and circle of thirds above each note?

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218 | Key of E - Chord Inversions (Guitar)
finger positions on the fretboard

Here's how to play all 7 chords in the key of E -- in any position on the fretboard.

Each harmony is formed from the underlying scale of the key. In this case, the E major scale:

And on the guitar, all of these chords follow a predictable (CAGED chord shape) pattern up the fretboard....

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217 | ChordMap Quick Start
how to navigate the map

Here's a quick intro to navigating your ChordMap™ -- to crack the code to songwriting. With it, you can identify the key, mode, and chord progressions in a song. Here’s how it works:

Parallel Modes

In the circle of fifths, the chords in each key are grouped. Parallel modes (which share the same tonic) are all neighbors in the circle of fifths. These parallel modes are a common source of borrowed chords in songs. Using the key of C, for example:

  • Rotate the numerals layer to align “I” next to C (the red square in the inner ring). This will also position all of the other numerals with their respective chords.

  • Holding the numeral layer in place, next rotate the grouping line layer to point at the “Lydian” label. This layer arrangement highlights the chords of C LYDIAN, which includes C major, D major, E minor, F# diminished, G major, A minor, and B minor – marked by numerals I, II, iii, #iv°, V, vi, and vii, respectively:

  • Continuing to hold the numerals layer in place, you can then rotate the grouping line layer counterclockwise in 30-degree increments. This highlights the other C parallel modes, including C IONIAN (a.k.a. “C major”) with chords C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished – marked by numerals, I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, and vii°:

  • C MIXOLYDIAN with chords C major, D minor, E diminished, F major, G minor, A minor, and Bb major, marked by numerals I, ii, iii°, IV, v, vi, and bVII, respectively:

  • C DORIAN with chords chords C minor, D minor, Eb major, F major, G minor, A diminished, and Bb major, marked by numerals i, ii, bIII, IV, v, vi°, and bVII, respectively:

  • C AEOLIAN (a.k.a. “C minor”) with chords C minor, D diminished, Eb major, F minor, G minor, Ab major, and Bb major, marked by numerals i, ii°, bIII, iv, v, bVI, and bVII, respectively:

  • C PHRYGIAN with chords C minor, Db major, Eb major, F minor, G diminished, Ab major, and Bb minor, marked by numerals i, bII, bIII, iv, v°, bVI, and bvii, respectively:

  • And finally, C LOCRIAN with chords C diminished, Db major, Eb minor, F minor, Gb major, Ab major, and Bb minor, marked by numerals i°, bII, biii, iv, bV, bVI, and bvii, respectively:

Again, by holding the numerals layer in place and rotating the grouping line counterclockwise, you can see each parallel mode – as this image summarizes:

Relative Modes

The ChordMap also illustrates all relative modes in every key, but moving in reverse. You do this by holding the grouping line layer in place instead and rotating the numerals layer. Using the key of C again, for example:

  • Rotate the numerals layer to align “I” next to C (the red square in the inner ring). As before, this will position all the other numerals with their respective chords.

  • Next, position the grouping line layer so that it is pointing directly up to the “Ionian” label. This again highlights the C IONIAN mode (a.k.a. “C major”) with chords C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished – marked by numerals, I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, and vii°:

  • Holding the grouping line layer in place, rotate the numerals layer 30-degrees in a counterclockwise direction to highlights the chords of F LYDIAN, which includes F major, G major, A minor, B diminished, C major, D minor, and E minor – marked by numerals I, II, iii, #iv°, V, vi, and vii, respectively:

  • Again keeping the grouping line in place and rotating the numerals 30-degrees clockwise past C Ionian, the G MIXOLYDIAN mode is illustrated, with chords G major, A minor, B diminished, C major, D minor, E minor, and F major – marked by numerals I, ii, iii°, IV, v, vi, and bVII, respectively: 

  • Rotating the numerals further clockwise by 30-degrees, the stationary group line highlights the D DORIAN mode, with D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, B diminished, and C major, marked by numerals i, ii, bIII, IV, v, vi°, and bVII, respectively:

  • Another clockwise rotation of the numerals by 30-degrees highlights the A AEOLIAN mode, which includes chords A minor, B diminished, C major, D minor, E minor, F major, and G major, marked by numerals i, ii°, bIII, iv, v, bVI, and bVII, respectively:

  • Yet another 30-degree clockwise rotation of the numerals in relation to the stationary group line highlights E PHRYGIAN, which includes chords E minor, F major, G major, A minor, B diminished, C major, and D minor, marked by numerals i, bII, bIII, iv, v°, bVI, and bvii, respectively:

  • Finally, one more 30-degree clockwise rotation of the numerals highlights the B LOCRIAN mode, with chords B diminished, C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, and A minor, marked by numerals i°, bII, biii, iv, bV, bVI, and bvii, respectively:

To summarize, these are the seven relative modes of C major:

 

Parallel vs. Relative Modes

Because each layer of the ChordMap can move independently, these same relationships are shown in all 12 keys – whether the numerals remain stationary and the grouping line rotates to illustrate PARALLEL modes … or vice versa, with the grouping line made stationary and the numerals rotated in 30-degree increments to highlight RELATIVE modes. 

In the examples above, each PARALLEL mode of C is shown to be a permutation of seven other keys:

  • C Lydian = G Ionian

  • C Ionian = C Ionian

  • C Mixolydian = F Ionian

  • C Dorian = Bb Ionian

  • C Aeolian = Eb Ionian

  • C Phrygian = Ab Ionian

  • C Locrian = Db Ionian 

In contrast, each RELATIVE mode C is a permutation of the key of C:

  • F Lydian = C Ionian

  • C Ionian = C Ionian

  • G Mixolydian = C Ionian

  • D Dorian = C Ionian

  • A Aeolian = C Ionian

  • E Phrygian = C Ionian

  • B Locrian = C Ionian 

Again, these relationships are cyclical and symmetrical so you can quickly navigate the circle of fifths. Once you know how to move around the ChordMap, it’s easy to analyze chord progressions, including:

  • the use of parallel modes for borrowed chords

  • the use of both parallel and relative modes for modal mixture

  • the use of modulation (shifting between modes within a composition)

  • etc.

There’s so much to explore. Enjoy!

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215 | The ChordMap is Available!
It's now in the shop

The ChordMap is now available in the Shop. You can get yours here.

I'll do live stream here later today or tomorrow to introduce it. (You'll get a heads up once the stream is scheduled.) We'll walk through the features, some examples of how to use it in songwriting. And I'll share a little bit about the process of creating it. Cheers!

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