1. A circle is a map of tonal function
When playing a chord progression, we move through a sonic cycle. The tonic offers rest and establishes the center of auditory attraction on the instrument. The next step leads to the zone of movement.
The dominant strongly pushes to return to the beginning. Roman numerals mark this path without being tied to a fixed note. Letters indicate the actual chords on the guitar. This way, we hear the goal of each change without memorizing empty positions.
Listen: rest, departure, tension and return
- C
- F
- G7
- C
2. Comparing major and minor cycles
In a major key, we link the tonic, subdominant, and dominant with chords like C, F, and G. This relationship creates a bright and predictable balance for the ear.
In a minor cycle, the path sounds darker. To return to the tonic, we use a major dominant with its marked leading tone, like E major in A minor. This detail gives life to the minor cadence and resolves clearly.
| Function | C major | A minor |
|---|---|---|
| Tonic | I — C | i — Am |
| Predominant | IV — F | iv — Dm |
| Dominant | V — G / V7 — G7 | V — E / V7 — E7 |
Major cycle: I – IV – V – I
- C
- F
- G
- C
Minor cycle: i – iv – V – i
- Am
- Dm
- E
- Am
3. Bass motion, voicing and the guitar fretboard
The same progression allows for different voicings on the guitar. It's advisable to keep the root in the bass when the harmony seeks a clear and stable foundation for the whole.
An inversion helps if it produces a more fluid bass line or better connects an upper voice. Follow each voice calmly, observing common notes and semitones. The catalog guides you to specific studies on the fretboard with clear fingerings.
4. Modal colour and borrowed chords
A mode is easily recognized when the harmony sustains its characteristic note over time. D Dorian contains B natural as the sixth, as opposed to D natural minor. Playing Dm7 followed by G7 makes this distinctive note audible. C Lydian includes F sharp, and G Mixolydian includes F natural. These intervals provide timbral variety depending on the tempo and arrangement.
Modal interchange takes a chord from a parallel scale without losing the tonal center. In C major, the sequence F–Fm–C introduces A flat in the minor subdominant. The descent A–A flat–G clearly connects the upper voice to the tonic. Following this voice helps to understand the harmonic logic of the phrase.
Listen to the borrowed chord
- F
- Fm
- C
| Mode | Characteristic note | Listening example |
|---|---|---|
| D Dorian | B | Dm7–G7 |
| C Lydian | F# | Cmaj7–D/C |
| G Mixolydian | F | G–F–G |
5. Seventh chords, drop voicings and tritone substitution
A tetrad adds the seventh to the triad. In C major, the sequence Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 fulfills the role of a ii–V–I cadence. In drop 2, four voices are used, and the second upper voice is lowered an octave, going from C–E–G–B to G–C–E–B. This arrangement makes it easier to finger four notes on adjacent strings comfortably.
Tritone substitution changes G7 to D♭7 before Cmaj7. Their guide tones coincide enharmonically, as B and F are equivalent to C flat and F. The bass descends by semitones D–D flat–C in Dm7–D♭7–Cmaj7. This line enriches the path to the tonic with a chromatic color.
ii – V – I cadence
- Dm7
- G7
- Cmaj7
The same cadence with a tritone substitution
- Dm7
- Db7
- Cmaj7
6. A study route for each circle
Establish a routine for the 24 studies. Play the four chords slowly with the tonic in the bass. Name their function as tonic, predominant, and dominant. Hold each chord for four beats. Listen for the note that moves the least between one chord and the next. That close note connects the progression.
In the second stage, vary only one element at a time. Maintain the tempo and change the strumming. Then keep the pattern and move the chords along the neck/fretboard. Changing one variable at a time shows what produces real improvement.
Comparison with the relative minor
Compare a major circle with its relative minor, such as C major versus A minor. Both share notes but change the resting point. In the minor mode, the dominant adds the altered leading tone. Humming the tonic of each chord helps you feel the function of the cycle.
Each study includes the four phases of the cycle and direct access to fingerings. It also provides historical references and exercises with a metronome. These serve as a guide to recognize these functions in everyday songs.
7. Check yourself before choosing a circle
Short questions to reinforce what you've just read. There's no grade or record, so if you miss one, just listen again and repeat.
In C – F – G7 – C, which chord is the dominant?
Listen to both cycles. Which one is minor?
In C major, which chord of F – Fm – C is borrowed from C minor?
Try it on your guitar
Choose a circle from the catalog and play it slowly, naming aloud the function of each chord as tonic, predominant, and dominant.
Guitar harmony studies
Choose a circle to explore
Each lesson follows the harmonic journey through rest, movement, tension, and resolution.
Major circles
Minor circles
Hear and practise this circle in context
The bass line and the tonal centre
Listen to the bass before looking at your fretting hand. Rameau’s fundamental-bass approach asks us to consider the harmonic roots even when a guitarist chooses an inversion and the lowest audible note changes. The written chord symbol names the harmony; the bass note of a particular voicing does not always name its root.
First strum every chord once, then play just one low note per change. Notice whether the final chord leads your ear back to the opening harmony. If it does, the sense of return is a relationship between chords, not simply the effect of playing louder at the end.
Tonic, preparation and dominant
Riemann’s functional vocabulary is a useful listening map: tonic provides a reference, subdominant prepares movement away from it, and dominant makes the return feel directed. In a minor circle, compare the pull of the final chord with its major-key counterpart and listen for any raised leading tone. The labels describe a tonal context; they are not claims that every listener feels an identical emotion.
When the dominant contains a tritone
Listen for that contrary motion; you do not need to name every note to hear the release.
Common tones and economical fingering
Schoenberg’s discussion of voice leading encourages careful attention to the individual parts inside a chord change. A guitar fingering is only one arrangement of these pitches. Two shapes may look far apart on the neck while sharing a tone, or look similar while the sounding voices change.
Fret each chord cleanly before increasing speed. Keep a common finger in place when the chosen shapes allow it, but release pressure rather than twisting the wrist to force an awkward connection.
A measured practice routine
Set a comfortable pulse and give each chord one full measure. Next play only the bass notes, keeping the same tempo. Then add a quiet upstroke between beats to hear where the harmony changes.
Record one pass and check whether the start of each chord is even; a rushed change can make harmonic tension sound like a timing error. Finally, remove the sound and name the next chord before your hand moves. Return to the interactive circle to compare your version with the recorded guitar.
Increase the tempo only after the four transitions remain clean across several repetitions.
Transpose without changing the functions
Use the Orbital Transposer to move this entire pattern to a neighboring key. Keep the chord order and the same rhythmic pulse. A transposition changes absolute pitch, not the interval relationships that define the progression.
The starting notes differ, but the sequence of harmonic functions should still be recognizable. If one guitar shape becomes uncomfortable, choose another voicing or use a capo where it suits the range. A capo changes the sounding key of familiar shapes; it does not turn a minor chord into a major chord or repair an incorrect progression.