The house tools
the circle
“Every key knows its neighbors. Meet the family.”
Arrow keys move around the wheel · up/down switches major and minor · enter selects
Selected C major
Selected key
C major
No sharps or flats.
Major scale
C · D · E · F · G · A · B
Diatonic triads
Small text below each chord is its diatonic 7th.
Neighbors
Borrowed from the parallel minor
- Fm
iv. Fm borrows the minor four from the parallel minor. It softens the pull home with an aching, wistful color, common in soul and pop right before landing back on I.
- Bb
bVII. B♭ is a major triad on the flatted seventh. It skips the leading tone for a rock or modal cadence back to I, a staple of classic rock and folk.
- Ab
bVI. A♭ sits a flatted sixth up. It drops in a shadowed, cinematic color, often sliding down to bVII on the way back home.
- Eb
bIII. E♭ is a major triad on the flatted third. It can stand in for the relative major or act as a stepping stone toward bVI.
Bring it to the table
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