Word.ws English Dictionary

cycles of fifths

cycles of fifths is the plural 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.

Questions about cycles of fifths

What is cycles of fifths the plural of?
Cycles of fifths is the plural of cycle of fifths.

Words near cycles of fifths in the dictionary

  1. cycler
  2. cycleries
  3. cyclers
  4. cyclery
  5. cycles
  6. cycles of fifths
  7. cycles off
  8. cycles per second
  9. cycletrack
  10. cycletracks
  11. cycletruck

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cycles 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: “cycles of fifths.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cycles_of_fifths. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.