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Cycle of 5ths in Jazz

In the previous tutorial I mentioned that diatonic root movement by
a third is weak as the second chord has three out of four notes the
same as the previous one. The strongest root movement is
downwards by a perfect fifth (same as upwards by a fourth).

If we continue moving in fifths we have a progression which goes

through all twelve notes available in western music and arrives
back where it started. This is called the cycle of 5ths, or sometimes
the cycle of 4ths. This is because if you progress round the cycle
the other way (anticlockwise) the intervals are 4ths instead of 5ths.

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Ex 3a: Cycle (or circle) of fifths starting at C go anti-clockwise

to see the tonic notes of the key and the number of sharps or flats
in the key signature.

A IIm7-V7-I progression has a root movement that follows the cycle

of fifths (D G C). By substituting chord I with chord III (which we
covered previously in ex 2e) we continue this cycle further (E A
D G C). Carrying on this pattern an entire cycle can be made up
of IIm7-V7s (ex 3b)

Em7-A7 Dm7-G7 Cm7-F7 Bbm7-Eb7 Abm7-Db7 F#m7-B7 Em7-A7

(key:
(key: D) (key: C)

(key: Ab) (key: Gb) (key: E) (key: D)

Bb)

ex 3b: Cycle of fifths (IIm7-V7-Is)

If each IIm7-V7 is given a key centre, the progression contains 6

key centres each a whole tone lower than the previous one. There
are therefore two different IIm7-V7 cycles, a semitone apart. (ex. 3b
and c).

Ebm7-Ab7 C#m7-F#7 Bm7-E7 Am7-D7 Gm7-C7 Fm7-Bb7 Ebm7-Ab7

(key: Db) (key: B)

(key: A) (key: G) (key: F) (key: Eb) (key: Db)

ex 3c: Cycle of fifths (IIm7-V7-Is), using the 6 key centres not used
in ex 3b.

If we continue the process of creating secondary dominants (see

previous tutorial, ex 2f) we arrive at thecycle of fifths of dominant 7
chords(see above ex 3a). This sequence is very common in jazz. A
very typical example is the bridge of GershwinsI Got
Rhythm(chapter 10). There are countless jazz tunes based on the
chord sequence ofI Got Rhythm:Lester Leaps

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In,Anthropology,Cottontailand many more.

Note in ex 3d below the downward semitone resolution (voice

leading) from 7th to 3rd and 3rd to 7th. Although the 3rd in a
dominant 7th chord is a leading note and would normally resolve up
a step, this chromatic descending line is often used as a feature of
the cycle of fifths.

N.B. when analysing a tune and part of a cycle of fifths appears

where dominant 7th chords are changing quickly it may be simpler
to specify only the final key centre rather than a key centre for each
chord, see ex 3d below and chapter 13 I Got Rhythmchord
changes

ex 3d: Analysis of a partial cycle.

The only difference is really in the direction in which you travel

around the circle. Look at the diagram and you will see that if you
travel anti clockwise, the intervals are intervals of a fifth
downwards. If you travel clockwise, the intervals are a fourth
downwards.

A descending fifth is an important interval. When chords move from

a dominant seven down a fifth to a tonic, this is a perfect cadence,
a very strong movement which is often denotes the end of a phrase
or the entire tune. As you may imagine, there is some confusion, as
some people refer to the circle of 5ths as the circle of 4ths.

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