The Cycle Of 4ths

The cycle of 4th is something you will hear jazz players talk about quite often and the reason for that is that it can be a really great way to practice moving scales, arpeggios and chord progressions through all twelve keys. Jazz chord progressions often move in intervals of a 4th and so it is a logical and useful way to practice playing in all twelve keys. In this article I will show you how to use the cycle of fourths to learn to practice and improvise in all twelve musical keys.

You can use the cycle of 4ths to practice scales, chords and arpeggios in a logical way. One of the most difficult things about learning any new scale or arpeggio is learning it in all twelve keys and the cycle of 4ths provides you with a logical way to practice.

You may have heard of the cycle of 5ths as well. Basically the cycle of 5ths is exactly the same as the cycle of 4ths but you go in the other direction. 4ths and 5ths are related intervals. F is the 4th of C, and C is the 5th of F and so on. Don’t get confused between the cycle of 4ths and the cycle of 5ths because they are both the same idea.

Let’s start by taking a look at the cycle of 4ths and see how we can use it in our own playing. The idea is to play your scales and modes through the cycle of 4ths. You start on C, move on to F and follow the cycle until you get to G.

Cycle Of 4ths

C – No flat notes

F – 1 Flat note (Bb)

Bb – 2 Flat notes (Bb Eb)

Eb – 3 Flat notes (Eb Bb Ab)

Ab – 4 Flat Notes (Ab Eb Bb Db)

Db – 5 Flat Notes (Bb Eb Ab Db Gb)

Gb – 6 Flat Notes (Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb)

B – 5 Sharp Note (F# C# G# D# A#)

E – 4 Sharp Notes (F# C# G# D#)

A – 3 Sharp Notes (F# C# G#)

D – 2 Sharp Notes (F# C#)

G – 1 Sharp Notes (F#)

The Cycle Of 5ths

The cycle of 5ths is exactly the same except that you would travel in the opposite direction.

C

G

D

A

E

B

Gb

Db

Ab

Eb

Bb

F

When you learn any new scale, mode or arpeggio, try playing it through the cycle of fourths to learn it in every key. In order to improvise at a higher lever then you will need to be able to play all your chords and arpeggios in all twelve keys.