Re: Explain the Circle of 5ths

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:34:45 GMT, Hacienda de Ville <ferrante276-
haciendadeville@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote the following in rec.music.theory:

> What exactly is the purpose of the circle of 5ths and how essential is
> it to know?
> 
Centuries ago, the Greeks decided that the most pleasing interval between 
notes was the perfect 5th. Starting at any note, you can go up by 5ths or 
down by 5ths and you will come back to the starting note after playing all

12 notes of the chromatic scale.

How im****tant is it to know? Well, Starting with C major at the top the 
first seven notes down are all of the "flat" keys in order (IE 1 flat, 2 
flats) and going up the first seven notes are the "sharp" keys, so it
gives 
a good visualisation of the natural progression of the scales.

-- 
"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je-ne-sais-quoi."
Peter Schickele