Circle of Fifths with Tritone Shortcut
Of all the chord progressions used in music, this is one of the most common ones. So it's worth getting to know and learning to recognize it by ear.
There are many variations on it but the common theme is that the roots of the chords in the sequence march around the circle of fifths. The progression typically goes counterclockwise around the circle, thus descending a 5th with each chord change.
But, to move all the way around the circle would make for a long sequence and it would get boring! So typically we take a "shortcut", right through the middle at some point in the sequence!
First example from Mozart, is a passage near the beginning of the C Major sonata, K545. It had just modulated to G, so this section is in G major. The roots of the chords (ignoring whether they're major/minor/diminished or 7ths) are: G, C, F#, B, E, A, D, G. Note that this is basically just marching around the circle of 5th, and it ends up where it began, on G.
Listen to it here -->
onlymp3.to - Mozart Piano Sonata No 16 C major K 545 Barenboim-1vDxlnJVvW8-192k-1660120762619.mp3This is what I mean by the shortcut. The passage above (color coded to this wheel) begins and ends on G. It moves counterclockwise to C then takes a shortcut to F#. Note that this interval is not a perfect 5th but is a tritone (aka a diminished 5th).
(In fact, a pair of notes opposite one another on this circle always form the interval of a tritone).
After reach F# it continues counterclockwise back to G, where it started.
Second example from J.S. Bach is from the beginning of his A minor violin concerto.
This time it begins and ends on A minor, and the shortcut is taken closer to the end of the sequence (F to B). Listen to it ...
04 Bach (JS)_ Violin Concerto In A Minor, BWV 1041 - 1. Allegro.mp3
Finally, fast-forward to the disco era of the 1970 s! This is Gloria Gaynor singing the exact same progression as in the Bach, and even in the same key!
I Will Survive.mp3