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Guitar: The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists: Learn and Apply Music Theory for Guitarists
Master the Circle of Fifths and Crack the Secret Code of Music TheoryDiscover how to form any scale - in any key
Understand key signatures
Change key musically and effectively
Understand how to apply and hear music theory on the guitar
Instantly know the notes of any major of minor scale
The Circle of Fifths for GuitaristsAre you aware of key signatures, keys and scales but don’t quite know how they fit together?Would you like to have complete freedom to build and use the right scales on guitar?Do you want to know exactly which notes to play in any major or minor scale?Do you know how to change key smoothly and easily?The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists will teach you to build, understand and use the essential building-blocks of music theory to become a better musician, quickly and easily.
Here’s what you complete course, building from the first principles of music that allows you to create, understand and master the Circle of Fifths.Discover how to build every major and relative minor scales.Understand how key signatures work and instantly know the notes of any scaleAn instant trick to tell you the notes in any key, just using by looking at your guitar fretboard! Learn to instantly see the relationships six ‘secret’ closely related key changes that you can use in your own writing and playing instantly.
Are you Missing part of the puzzle?Most guitarists know a lot of scales, but few actually understand the essential principles of how they are built and how they relate to each other.
The Circle of Fifths is like an ancient ‘Rosetta Stone’ of music theory that not only tells you which notes are in any key, but also contains the secret of how every scale is built and how every scale relates to each other.
In The Circle of Fifths, you will not only learn how The Circle works, but you will also learn to build it yourself and gain instant access to the deep inner core of theory that governs everything in music.
The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists shows how every key, scale, chord and modulation works in music. It’s essential knowledge of any aspiring musician.
Hear it!Theory is just knowledge, but once you hear it, it becomes music. The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists contains many supporting audio examples to help you get inside the theory and quickly apply the concepts to your own playing.
This book is Free on Kindle Unlimited
Understand key signatures
Change key musically and effectively
Understand how to apply and hear music theory on the guitar
Instantly know the notes of any major of minor scale
The Circle of Fifths for GuitaristsAre you aware of key signatures, keys and scales but don’t quite know how they fit together?Would you like to have complete freedom to build and use the right scales on guitar?Do you want to know exactly which notes to play in any major or minor scale?Do you know how to change key smoothly and easily?The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists will teach you to build, understand and use the essential building-blocks of music theory to become a better musician, quickly and easily.
Here’s what you complete course, building from the first principles of music that allows you to create, understand and master the Circle of Fifths.Discover how to build every major and relative minor scales.Understand how key signatures work and instantly know the notes of any scaleAn instant trick to tell you the notes in any key, just using by looking at your guitar fretboard! Learn to instantly see the relationships six ‘secret’ closely related key changes that you can use in your own writing and playing instantly.
Are you Missing part of the puzzle?Most guitarists know a lot of scales, but few actually understand the essential principles of how they are built and how they relate to each other.
The Circle of Fifths is like an ancient ‘Rosetta Stone’ of music theory that not only tells you which notes are in any key, but also contains the secret of how every scale is built and how every scale relates to each other.
In The Circle of Fifths, you will not only learn how The Circle works, but you will also learn to build it yourself and gain instant access to the deep inner core of theory that governs everything in music.
The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists shows how every key, scale, chord and modulation works in music. It’s essential knowledge of any aspiring musician.
Hear it!Theory is just knowledge, but once you hear it, it becomes music. The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists contains many supporting audio examples to help you get inside the theory and quickly apply the concepts to your own playing.
This book is Free on Kindle Unlimited
102 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2016
1088 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 5, 2019
This book reflects a lack pedagogical rigor, clear thinking and unfortunately demonstrates yet again what is acceptable in this day and age in terms of "tutoring". It is unfortunate that the reader has to succumb to an author who has a great deal of difficulty trying to explain a concept in a manner which
is logical and based on solid ground. As an example on page 9 at the bottom he states "We will come to the major scale soon but right now it is VERY IMPORTANT to learn what a 5th is". Really?? So how are you going to explain the 5th of B Major?? The reader then is told on page 11 "don't panic"as this will become very clear soon (albeit not soon enough). As we continue reading, we find more of these examples of haphazard and "lazy" thinking on the part of the author. Clearly what this publication lacked is the rigor of an EDITOR - someone respected and known in the field of music and in pedagogy. To be frank, Mr. Alexander may be a good musician but this does not imply that he is a good teacher. On a side note, I find it suspect that Mr. Alexander does not bother to elucidate his professional credentials in the manner of academics, the degrees he holds from accredited universities, etc. - and, more importantly, I have never heard of him. My personal opinion: Mr. Alexander presents the material poorly to the beginning student. However, it does show some promise, but this for another day.
is logical and based on solid ground. As an example on page 9 at the bottom he states "We will come to the major scale soon but right now it is VERY IMPORTANT to learn what a 5th is". Really?? So how are you going to explain the 5th of B Major?? The reader then is told on page 11 "don't panic"as this will become very clear soon (albeit not soon enough). As we continue reading, we find more of these examples of haphazard and "lazy" thinking on the part of the author. Clearly what this publication lacked is the rigor of an EDITOR - someone respected and known in the field of music and in pedagogy. To be frank, Mr. Alexander may be a good musician but this does not imply that he is a good teacher. On a side note, I find it suspect that Mr. Alexander does not bother to elucidate his professional credentials in the manner of academics, the degrees he holds from accredited universities, etc. - and, more importantly, I have never heard of him. My personal opinion: Mr. Alexander presents the material poorly to the beginning student. However, it does show some promise, but this for another day.
November 18, 2021
“The Circle Of Fifths For Guitarists” (2017©) — book review
This review is for the first guitar book (non-song book category) which I have finished reading. Hopefully, there will be many more in the future…
The book is written by: Joseph Alexander and is part of a series of learning about music / guitar titled: “Fundamental Changes“. There is an associated website at: www.fundamental-changes.com. It also has associated Facebook and Instagram blah-blah-blah…
Background:
In January of this year (2021), I decided to teach myself to play guitar. I’ve now purchased multiple guitars (acoustic and electric) and about a dozen books on learning music and learning how to play various genres of guitar. I am trying to “find” my voice on both hardware and in music. I am doing this (journey / vision-quest) “mostly” through YouTube, Wikipedia, Google and my local second hand bookstore. I am averaging about one hour a day of hands-on practice and another couple of hours exploring genres, music theory, musicians / bands / songs, and hardware reviews. Although I have (probably) over 300 hours of hands-on practice, I still consider myself to be a near complete-beginner guitarist. I have watched multiple hours worth of videos on “The Circle of Fifths” and given this book is only a little over sixty pages of material, I’ve spent far more time watching videos than I actually spent reading this book.
Review:
Having said this, the questions remain: is THIS a good book about the topic and would I recommend it to others? The answer to both is: “YES“.
First (good): this is not a particularly easy topic to cover / explain. I may feel this way simply because I’m such a beginner, but I’ve asked a few people who’ve “played” guitar in the past and they (mostly) said: “Just learn some chords and play songs. Nobody is interested in theory.” The problem is: I AM!! Not only am I interested in guitar (as a physical instrument), I am also interested in it as a means of musical expression. I seek to “Grok” guitar. This means I have to learn the how’s and why’s of just about everything “guitar”. Hence, my interest in the topic: “The Circle of Fifths” (TCoF).
Alexander has written a very easy to read explanation of TCoF and I feel this book significantly increased the depth and breadth of my understanding of this music tool. Obviously TCoF is a tool for all musicians and not limited to just use by guitarists. Having said this, the author appropriately makes the effort to explain things from / for a guitarist’s point of view. He defines words / terms when he first uses them, so ensuring the budding guitarist knows what he is talking about. Alexander also takes the time to briefly explain some things beyond the scope of the book and cautions readers when a side topic is going to get deep. Basically, he explains fundamental concepts clearly and then builds on the foundation to round out the reader’s understanding.
As mentioned earlier, there is an associated website with audio files which can be played to increase understanding by ear training and not simply expecting the reader to “understand” a point by reading about it. This is a book about practical application of theory to music (sound).
Second (bad): If that’s the good, what’s wrong? Well, my copy came to me with every third page glued together. Not consecutive pages, but facing pages and every other set: two pages open, two pages glued, etc. The glued spot was pretty uniform at about two inches in from the center / binding. Most were only spots. A few were lengths (a quarter inch to two inches) running from binding margin to the center of text. A couple were the full height of the page as well as being over an inch in width. Most could be pulled free. Three of the sets completely shredded the opposite page – which meant you couldn’t read the back of that page either, even though it wasn’t glued. Fortunately, the worst pages were at the extreme front and end of the book. When contacted, the response was: the books are printed and delivered by Amazon; take it back to them and they’ll arrange to give you another. If this was a hardbound book or more expensive, I would have done this. Weighing the cost versus my time, I just decided to live with what I have. And, after all, the book was still readable. Although annoying in multiple locations, I could figure out the missing words from surrounding context.
Third (bad): The book had a handful (less than five) of editing errors where either a word was dropped or an incorrect word was used. Only one was so bad (impactful) that I had to go back and re-read adjoining text to ensure I knew what the author was saying instead of what it looked like he was saying. I would add, I personally would NEVER buy this type of book in kindle format without having seen the complete book on whatever hardware version I owned. There is too much valuable information easily accessible by laying out two pages and seeing them next to each other in a readable size / format. In fairness, I am a “book” person, not an “ebook” person. Of course, with kindle I wouldn’t have had the glue issue.
Final recommendation: strong recommendation. If you are interested in learning a bit about music theory, how chords and keys are built and how chords work together to create music, this is an excellent beginner’s resource. Is it going to “vastly” improve MY music skills. Not in the immediate future. I’m not that good, yet. But I’ll get there some day and I believe reading this book will have helped me get there sooner than if I’d not read it. I will look for this author and series in my local used book stores where I can open and check the pages before I buy the book.
This review is for the first guitar book (non-song book category) which I have finished reading. Hopefully, there will be many more in the future…
The book is written by: Joseph Alexander and is part of a series of learning about music / guitar titled: “Fundamental Changes“. There is an associated website at: www.fundamental-changes.com. It also has associated Facebook and Instagram blah-blah-blah…
Background:
In January of this year (2021), I decided to teach myself to play guitar. I’ve now purchased multiple guitars (acoustic and electric) and about a dozen books on learning music and learning how to play various genres of guitar. I am trying to “find” my voice on both hardware and in music. I am doing this (journey / vision-quest) “mostly” through YouTube, Wikipedia, Google and my local second hand bookstore. I am averaging about one hour a day of hands-on practice and another couple of hours exploring genres, music theory, musicians / bands / songs, and hardware reviews. Although I have (probably) over 300 hours of hands-on practice, I still consider myself to be a near complete-beginner guitarist. I have watched multiple hours worth of videos on “The Circle of Fifths” and given this book is only a little over sixty pages of material, I’ve spent far more time watching videos than I actually spent reading this book.
Review:
Having said this, the questions remain: is THIS a good book about the topic and would I recommend it to others? The answer to both is: “YES“.
First (good): this is not a particularly easy topic to cover / explain. I may feel this way simply because I’m such a beginner, but I’ve asked a few people who’ve “played” guitar in the past and they (mostly) said: “Just learn some chords and play songs. Nobody is interested in theory.” The problem is: I AM!! Not only am I interested in guitar (as a physical instrument), I am also interested in it as a means of musical expression. I seek to “Grok” guitar. This means I have to learn the how’s and why’s of just about everything “guitar”. Hence, my interest in the topic: “The Circle of Fifths” (TCoF).
Alexander has written a very easy to read explanation of TCoF and I feel this book significantly increased the depth and breadth of my understanding of this music tool. Obviously TCoF is a tool for all musicians and not limited to just use by guitarists. Having said this, the author appropriately makes the effort to explain things from / for a guitarist’s point of view. He defines words / terms when he first uses them, so ensuring the budding guitarist knows what he is talking about. Alexander also takes the time to briefly explain some things beyond the scope of the book and cautions readers when a side topic is going to get deep. Basically, he explains fundamental concepts clearly and then builds on the foundation to round out the reader’s understanding.
As mentioned earlier, there is an associated website with audio files which can be played to increase understanding by ear training and not simply expecting the reader to “understand” a point by reading about it. This is a book about practical application of theory to music (sound).
Second (bad): If that’s the good, what’s wrong? Well, my copy came to me with every third page glued together. Not consecutive pages, but facing pages and every other set: two pages open, two pages glued, etc. The glued spot was pretty uniform at about two inches in from the center / binding. Most were only spots. A few were lengths (a quarter inch to two inches) running from binding margin to the center of text. A couple were the full height of the page as well as being over an inch in width. Most could be pulled free. Three of the sets completely shredded the opposite page – which meant you couldn’t read the back of that page either, even though it wasn’t glued. Fortunately, the worst pages were at the extreme front and end of the book. When contacted, the response was: the books are printed and delivered by Amazon; take it back to them and they’ll arrange to give you another. If this was a hardbound book or more expensive, I would have done this. Weighing the cost versus my time, I just decided to live with what I have. And, after all, the book was still readable. Although annoying in multiple locations, I could figure out the missing words from surrounding context.
Third (bad): The book had a handful (less than five) of editing errors where either a word was dropped or an incorrect word was used. Only one was so bad (impactful) that I had to go back and re-read adjoining text to ensure I knew what the author was saying instead of what it looked like he was saying. I would add, I personally would NEVER buy this type of book in kindle format without having seen the complete book on whatever hardware version I owned. There is too much valuable information easily accessible by laying out two pages and seeing them next to each other in a readable size / format. In fairness, I am a “book” person, not an “ebook” person. Of course, with kindle I wouldn’t have had the glue issue.
Final recommendation: strong recommendation. If you are interested in learning a bit about music theory, how chords and keys are built and how chords work together to create music, this is an excellent beginner’s resource. Is it going to “vastly” improve MY music skills. Not in the immediate future. I’m not that good, yet. But I’ll get there some day and I believe reading this book will have helped me get there sooner than if I’d not read it. I will look for this author and series in my local used book stores where I can open and check the pages before I buy the book.
September 5, 2019
Well Laid Out
As a seasoned player of some 40 years, I've only been a drummer and a singer. Thought it was time to start gathering more theory. I enjoyed the read.
As a seasoned player of some 40 years, I've only been a drummer and a singer. Thought it was time to start gathering more theory. I enjoyed the read.
June 5, 2020
I began this book thinking that I would know much of what was within, but as it turned out, I knew very little about the circle of fifths. I am largely self-taught as a guitarist, and have a greater knowledge of music theory than your average guitarist, but as someone who primarily works with tablature, most of this was news to me. This book used tablature to help make sure that guitarists were able to follow, but much of what it was explaining had to do with standard notation and key signatures, in particular. This is a short book, but it did a good job of making sure I didn't get lost while explaining a complicated subject to an audience that is generally averse to the topic. As I have recently begun trying to learn to sight read music, this will prove invaluable to me, and even if that goal doesn't pan out, I have learned some simple tricks to better understand key signatures and really what the circle of fifths is about. I had heard about it, but I guess I never really understood it before.
March 29, 2021
I finally understand how to use this!
Coming from an understanding of music theory from a classical guitar perspective, I never really understood how the Circle Of Fifths worked until reading this book. It clearly shows how the Co5 works through practical examples that are very useable and easy to incorporate into your playing. It actually helped bridge me from a pure theoretical point of view to practical use on guitar and it enabled me to look at music through the guitar ‘interface’. Super helpful and useable. Clearly written with examples to listen to, well done 👍
Coming from an understanding of music theory from a classical guitar perspective, I never really understood how the Circle Of Fifths worked until reading this book. It clearly shows how the Co5 works through practical examples that are very useable and easy to incorporate into your playing. It actually helped bridge me from a pure theoretical point of view to practical use on guitar and it enabled me to look at music through the guitar ‘interface’. Super helpful and useable. Clearly written with examples to listen to, well done 👍
December 28, 2017
Circle of 5ths Revealed!
Short and concise but packed with information. Great for players who've jammed for a while but never taken the time to learn all the buzz words. Wish it had been a little longer.
Short and concise but packed with information. Great for players who've jammed for a while but never taken the time to learn all the buzz words. Wish it had been a little longer.
August 18, 2017
Excellent book
I recommend this book to understand music theory, but it needs to be read a few times to understand it fully.
I recommend this book to understand music theory, but it needs to be read a few times to understand it fully.
January 22, 2021
This book teaches exactly what title claims - understanding the circle of fifths and applying it to the guitar. It was a really quick an easy book that provides just enough music theory information to allow you to know everything that goes into generating and applying the circle of fifths. The marrying of the circle of fifths to the guitar, which is of course the basis of this book was clunky at times. It mostly consisted of introducing various fretboard patterns as memory aids to various aspects of circle of fifths. These tricks are kinda moot since the circle of fifths essentially is a cheat sheet so that you don't need to think a whole lot about relative minor scales and how many sharps are in B major. It was at least interesting to see how standard guitar tuning is optimized for easily playing in fifths - arguably the most important interval in Western music. There are also several typos throughout the book, but not enough to be too distracting. But after reading this, I was able to recreate the circle of fifths in my first go (not purely from memory, but intuitively applying the music theory and logic), so I can say I'm satisfied.
February 21, 2022
Good book. It explains music theory in a way that makes it practical and yet easy to understand. This knowledge can help you to be a more proficient writer of music.
If you think about it, it's very mathematical at it's core.
Excepting B and E, all keys have sharps. Excepting C and F, all keys have flats. There are two semitones from: A and B, C and D, D and E, F and G, and G to A. There is one semitone from: B to C, and E to F.
The circle of fifths is both basic and complicated. Study it, apply it and you will be rewarded greatly.
If you think about it, it's very mathematical at it's core.
Excepting B and E, all keys have sharps. Excepting C and F, all keys have flats. There are two semitones from: A and B, C and D, D and E, F and G, and G to A. There is one semitone from: B to C, and E to F.
The circle of fifths is both basic and complicated. Study it, apply it and you will be rewarded greatly.
April 1, 2020
Good book for beginners
Teaches you to build the circle of fifths along with some diatonic common chord modulation at the end. Some prerequisite music theory is required however as some topics would raise more questions then answers for beginners
Some better mnemonics to memorise FCGDAEB and BEADFCG instead of the one offered in the book
'Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle' and 'Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father'
Noticed they are flipped?
Teaches you to build the circle of fifths along with some diatonic common chord modulation at the end. Some prerequisite music theory is required however as some topics would raise more questions then answers for beginners
Some better mnemonics to memorise FCGDAEB and BEADFCG instead of the one offered in the book
'Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle' and 'Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles Father'
Noticed they are flipped?
September 2, 2019
A must-have for all guitarists
This is an excellent book required reading for anyone wishing to improve guitar skills, especially when writing an impressive solo. With the abundant helpful illustrations and explanations, this book helped me to fully understand how music theory is embedded in every single songs. And makes it so much easier to memorise scales as well!
This is an excellent book required reading for anyone wishing to improve guitar skills, especially when writing an impressive solo. With the abundant helpful illustrations and explanations, this book helped me to fully understand how music theory is embedded in every single songs. And makes it so much easier to memorise scales as well!
May 21, 2020
Circle of What?
I always enjoy guitar books by Joseph. I glean such nuggets that help my progression in mastery over this instrument. I have veered away from the ‘Theory’ word but this book explains how the scales were formed and how we can form progressions from the circle of fifths. KUDOS Mr. Alexander.
JP Collins
I always enjoy guitar books by Joseph. I glean such nuggets that help my progression in mastery over this instrument. I have veered away from the ‘Theory’ word but this book explains how the scales were formed and how we can form progressions from the circle of fifths. KUDOS Mr. Alexander.
JP Collins
November 21, 2022
A quick read that is heavy on the theory but worth your time. Whether your a songwriter or you just want to know why songs are built the way they are, this book if for you. Most guitarists understand the construction of the major and minor scales and the dominant 7's but knowing when and how to use them is overlooked.
July 1, 2019
You need to know this stuff
Okay circle of fifths we have heard about, but what's had that got to do with guitars and why bother learning it.
Well the the answer is everything and it will take your playing and knowledge to greater professionalism.
Okay circle of fifths we have heard about, but what's had that got to do with guitars and why bother learning it.
Well the the answer is everything and it will take your playing and knowledge to greater professionalism.
March 13, 2022
Interesting
This book was fine. I think this is an interesting concept to know; but, it's probably mostly needed for people who are composing songs or playing music professionally. It was nice to learn the proper terms for some things!
This book was fine. I think this is an interesting concept to know; but, it's probably mostly needed for people who are composing songs or playing music professionally. It was nice to learn the proper terms for some things!
July 7, 2024
complex information explained in a practical way.
This book sets the structure for understanding keys, notes and chords on the guitar. It is has practical examples and exercises to get the concepts and remember them.
This book sets the structure for understanding keys, notes and chords on the guitar. It is has practical examples and exercises to get the concepts and remember them.
December 13, 2018
Well done. Easy to understand.
August 5, 2019
Great read
This theory book was easily explained, easy to follow, I would definitely recommend if your new to music or just want to review
This theory book was easily explained, easy to follow, I would definitely recommend if your new to music or just want to review
April 20, 2020
I liked this book, it was an enjoyable read. There were a few things mnemotechnic ideas to remember notes that I found useful.
January 5, 2024
Advanced Music Knowledge
The information is rather extensive and is covered rather quickly but the accompanying audio examples helped grasp the theory fully.
The information is rather extensive and is covered rather quickly but the accompanying audio examples helped grasp the theory fully.
May 7, 2025
Very informative.
Very informative and interesting. It filled in holes I had in understand the why and how of things on the guitar.
Very informative and interesting. It filled in holes I had in understand the why and how of things on the guitar.
February 26, 2017
Great easy read on the circle
I really enjoyed reading and refreshing my knowledge of the circle of fifths, especially the fretboard shortcuts. Highly recommended for beginning songwriters.
I really enjoyed reading and refreshing my knowledge of the circle of fifths, especially the fretboard shortcuts. Highly recommended for beginning songwriters.
December 10, 2016
Great intro to movement in music.
I've been noodling around with music for a number of years, have a number of books on circle of 5ths. Most books just present exercises using the circle, but this one gives you a basic understanding of how it applies to music, and why it is useful.
I've been noodling around with music for a number of years, have a number of books on circle of 5ths. Most books just present exercises using the circle, but this one gives you a basic understanding of how it applies to music, and why it is useful.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews