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It's more like it's a circle of both fifths and fourths, in both directions. For example, C-G is a fifth if you go up, or a fourth if you go down. C-F is a fo

• gnaritas 14y ago
  Circles don't have up and down. :) Going clockwise is always a fifth, counterclockwise is always a fourth.
  • haberman 14y ago
    Circles don't, but intervals do. If you start at middle C (C4), you can go up to G4 to get a fifth or down to G3 to get a fourth. Ergo C-G can, in the abstract, be thought of as a fifth or a fourth. I think what you are trying to say is that going clockwise gives you successive dominants, while going counterclockwise gives you successive subdominants.
    • gnaritas 14y ago
      > Circles don't, but intervals do. Great, but we're discussion the circle of fifths and fourths, not the intervals. You've moving the goal post. A fifth and a fourth are the same interval, but in the context of a key they are not, thus the circle is only fourths in one direction. You can't decide if an interval is a fifth or a fourth without knowing the key. > I think what you are trying to say is that going clockwise gives you successive dominants, while going counterclockwise gives you successive subdominants. I'm not trying to say it, I said it. Pick any note on the circle, it's fifth (dominant) is directly clockwise and it's fourth (sub-dominant) is directly counterclockwise. Counterclockwise is always the fourth of the note you're moving from.