The Circle of Fifths: visual tools for musicians

This item was a gift for a family member who is heavily involved with music. Great for anyone who is in need of musical theory help. Certainly for more advanced students and teachers!

I'm a music teacher. 5 Stars for the author's mastery and presentation of music theory as organized by the circle of 5ths, BUT!... The book is highly technical and many would say a bit obscure in its approach to organizing the way one thinks about the structure of music. If you are a person who needs visual graphics to organize information into patterns, this is the theory book for you, but only after mastering at least 3 college semesters of traditionally presented music theory. This teaches a method of organizing scale and chord structures divorced of any instrument other than the visual diagram of the circle of 5ths. My experience as a teacher ingorms me that most musicians will find it more useful to understand the same information in relation to the keyboard or the fretboard or the lines and spaces of the staff. Buy it if you love exploring the esoteric and theoretical nature of music. It will fit in nicely on your shelf of references covering the more heady methods of analyzing the form of music.

I received what I expected

Philip Jackson's book _The Circle of Fifths: visual tools for musicians_ is EXCELLENT. I haven't finished it yet, because it is not a book one can just beeze through, and I just got it the other day. You have to pay very close attention to what Mr. Jackson is saying. His sentences are spare and direct, and concepts build upon one another as he progresses through his explanations. I have gotten through the first four chapters and have scanned the rest. I like it so much that in addition to the Kindle version I am ordering the printed book, too. Jackson is an original thinker, and his insights are worth your time if you're a muscian or want to be one.

Impressive

I’ve been playing clarinet since 1986 and took music theory in high school in the 90’s but forgot it. Singing even longer than playing and I’m currently learning piano. I say all of that to say that I wanted to re-learn music theory. I was under the impression that this book and the others that follow would be written in “dummy” terms so that someone like me could understand it. I’ve been actively playing in a community band for years and sing in choir. I’ve taken music theory before but there is so much about these books (i have book 1 and 2) that I don’t understand. To start with, the writer tends to go off on little rabbit trails, explaining some things that are not immediately useful to the reader. From the first page, the introduction, he discusses what the circle of fifths used to be and why it was inadequate. But why it’s better now. Most of that explanation went right over my head. The writer assumes that the reader is versed in scale degrees, and their names and numbers. While there is a brief explanation in the front of the book about degrees, the writer uses degrees in the first few chapters as if the reader knows them in his/her sleep. A lot of this book is completely over my head and I seriously need to look for a “for dummies” book because this ain’t it. Again, coming from someone who has been doing music and reading music for a long time. This book is well over my head and i feel like it’s a waste of money. Maybe I’ll come back to it after I’ve read the “for dummies” books on music theory. I really wanted to like this and use it but it’s overwhelming and in some cases provides too much information, more than the reader needs at the moment. I learned some basics of music theory (as it relates to piano anyway) from the book “Alfred’s Basic Piano Library The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios & Cadences” Willard Palmer, Morton Mans and Amanda Vick Lethco. It’s a start. It’s mostly a scale book for new pianists but starts with about 15 pages of music theory as it relates to piano and it’s written from a “dummy” perspective.

I have not completely explored this book and resources but it seems that it will be very helpful in teaching students at almost any level. Of course the teacher may have to interpret for younger students.

A very useful book, with a lot of material to absorb, a long term project

This book is unpretentious with its claims but has the potential to transform the way you understand and more importantly apply music theory. It is particularly relevant for musicians who improvise, as with Jazz, but is useful for anyone looking to improve their understanding of music theory. You need to have a basic grasp of music including the intervals, scales, chords and progressions but there is introductory and background theory in each section.I particularly like the logical approach that the author, Philip Jackson, uses consistently to demonstrate the utility of the circle of fifths and the pragmatic advice that he provides to assist practising musicians. Jackson provides solutions rather than sticking to a strict theoretical approach which can lead to confusion. For instance, he prefers not to use double sharps or flats and therefore changes the name of a note for simplification, and ease of performance for the musician.By relating music theory to the circle of fifths (or fourths), Jackson provides a model which is visual and can therefore be more easily remembered. I have been searching for a way of helping myself to improve my music theory and this book has significantly assisted me. It will be a constant reference source for me as some of the material was complex and will require further study.

I wish all music teachers I've come across could have thought to help me use the visual part of my memory.No! It's not too complicated - just demands an initial effort, that's all. Once all the effort has been made to commit the circle to memory, as the author suggests, the rest is pure enlightenment.I particularly liked the chapters on pentatonic scales and diminished chords. I'm a great fan of world music and so I tend to want to use pentatonics in my improvisation. This book makes it clear to me, for the first time, which pentatonic scales I can use and perhaps better, which to avoid.I can recommend The Circle of Fifths to all who want to understand about harmony and who are interested in playing and improvising.

It explains things very well, and there are relationships that I didn't know were there before.

Using it to review my music theory knowledge.