Many try to teach from the Circle of Fifths. The Circle of Fifths is useful for general music theory.
The Circle of Fifths diagrams the relationship of the 12 tones of Western music. Specifically, the Circle of Fifths arranges the 12 tones of music so the next tone is a P5. On the guitar, a P5 is seven frets higher than the last tone.
As you should recall from the lesson on intervals, intervals have inverse relationships, which depend on the direction you’re going. So the inverse of P5 is a P4.
In the above, the sequence for the major keys follows the Circle of Fifths. Each successive tone is a P5 above the preceding tone. Circling in the opposite heading, the Circle of Fifths becomes a Circle of Fourths.
You should know already that from Low pitch E, the intervals (successive tones) of the strings are perfect fourths (P4) from head to toes, except between G and B, which is a Major 3rd (M3). So instead of a Circle of Fifths, guitarists should want a Circle of Fourths.
But guitarists shouldn’t want any old Circle of Fourths. Guitarists should want the Riptide Guitar’s Guitar Circle of Fourths™. It’s a Circle of Fourths made for guitarists!
The Guitar Circle of Fourths starts with E the same as the guitar does. And this Guitar Circle of Fourths is so powerful that you will learn guitar so much faster with it.
Let’s see how you can put to work the Guitar Circle of Fourths straight away. Let’s use the Guitar Circle of Fourths to learn the Circle of Fourths on the guitar once and forever.
As an added bonus, you can work on your fret-board mastery.
The E at the 12 o’clock matches the low E on your guitar, that is the E closest to your chin.
- Pluck the first four strings as open to sound E-A-D-G.
- The next string is B. Fret the 1st fret on B, which is C.
- Now remember, the E strings are the same, so skip the high E and circle back to low E.
- Fret the 1st fret on low E, which is F.
- Fret the 1st fret on A, which is B♭.
- Fret the 1st fret on D, which is E♭.
- Fret the 1st fret on G, which is A♭.
- Fret the 2nd fret on B, which is a D♭.
- Fret the 2nd fret on E, which is a G♭.
- Now remember, the E strings are the same, so circle back to low E.
- The next string is A. Fret the 2nd fret on A, which is a B.
So once you get this into your mind, permanently, you will have the Guitar Circle of Fourths always at your finger tips. And with this, not only can you learn the fret board with ease, but you can master it.
It’s really this simple. If you know the name of a tone on one fret, you can figure out the names of the tones above or below using the Guitar Circle of Fourths.
How awesome is that?
