Word.ws English Dictionary

circle of fifths

circle of fifths is the alternative form of cycle of fifths.

Meaning of cycle of fifths

Noun

cycle of fifths (plural cycles of fifths)

  1. (music theory) A sequence of bass notes at intervals of one perfect fifth lower than the previous note. In twelve-tone equal temperament the sequence repeats every twelve tones, forming a cycle.
    • The composition modulates upwards through the cycle of fifths, eventually returning to the original key.

Forms of circle of fifths

pluralcircles of fifths

Questions about circle of fifths

What is circle of fifths the alternative form of?
Circle of fifths is the alternative form of cycle of fifths.

Words near circle of fifths in the dictionary

  1. circle marriage
  2. circle marriages
  3. circle of antisimilitude
  4. circle of Apollonius
  5. circle of confusion
  6. circle of fifths
  7. circle of friends
  8. circle of life
  9. circle of the gorge
  10. circle of Willis
  11. circle out

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: circle of fifths (page history and authors); cycle of fifths (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “circle of fifths.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/circle_of_fifths. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.