Rllink
Well-known member
I have studied the circle of fifths half to death, figuring that memorizing each little pie segment would help me in some way to understand music. I have a dozen renditions of the circle of fifths bookmarked or printed out, even one with a woolly mammoth that seems to be more detailed than the rest. And then there is the good old I-IV-V, which appears to me to be the circle of fifth in a linear form. I don't know, but I've been assured by more than a few, that knowing I-IV-V in every key is the key to success. But I am struggling with both of them, and it occurs to me that once you get past those first grade songs that we all love and cherish, the circle of fifths just doesn't seem to be working much of the time.
For an example, a song that I really like to sing and play, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. So the chord progression for the song as I play it goes like this; C-E7-F-D-C-E7-F-D. What key is that even? If it is the key of C, then it is going I-III-IV-II-I-III-IV-II. You know, that isn't even a hard song to play, if you don't try to use the circle of fifths or roman numerals to figure it out. So then we go to the chorus. Pretty simple; C-A-C-A-C-D-C-A. Is that the key of C? If it is, it is going I-VI-I-VI-I-II-I-VI. But maybe I don't know what key it is in. So many people tell me that the last chord of the chorus is always the key. It resolves the chorus I'm told. So maybe it is in the key of A. But it still isn't going to fit the equation.
So is this an exception or do I not understand, because I run into a lot of this lately? So as I said, I am struggling with this whole thing.
For an example, a song that I really like to sing and play, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. So the chord progression for the song as I play it goes like this; C-E7-F-D-C-E7-F-D. What key is that even? If it is the key of C, then it is going I-III-IV-II-I-III-IV-II. You know, that isn't even a hard song to play, if you don't try to use the circle of fifths or roman numerals to figure it out. So then we go to the chorus. Pretty simple; C-A-C-A-C-D-C-A. Is that the key of C? If it is, it is going I-VI-I-VI-I-II-I-VI. But maybe I don't know what key it is in. So many people tell me that the last chord of the chorus is always the key. It resolves the chorus I'm told. So maybe it is in the key of A. But it still isn't going to fit the equation.
So is this an exception or do I not understand, because I run into a lot of this lately? So as I said, I am struggling with this whole thing.