AP® Music Theory · Unit 5 · Topic 5.2
The Circle Progression
A circle progression is a chain of chords whose roots each fall a fifth (or rise a fourth) from the one before, so every chord briefly acts like a dominant resolving to the next, chaining that pull all the way home to the tonic.
The dominant-to-tonic move, V to I, is the strongest root relationship in tonal music: the root drops a fifth, and the ear hears arrival. A circle progression stacks that same motion over and over. Each chord's root drops a fifth to reach the next root (or, written the other way, rises a fourth, since falling a fifth and rising a fourth land on the same pitch class). That means every chord in the chain momentarily acts like a local dominant resolving into the chord that follows, and the pull of each small resolution adds to the next, building one long cumulative push toward the real tonic at the end.
A full diatonic circle progression in a major key runs vii°-iii-vi-ii-V-I, each root a fifth below the one before: B down to E, E down to A, A down to D, D down to G, G down to C. That covers six of the seven triads falling cleanly by fifth. The seventh, IV, usually gets tacked onto the end after I (giving I-IV) rather than continuing the fifth-chain, because stepping from IV down a fifth would land on vii°, a tritone away from F, not a fifth-related root. So treat IV as an add-on, not proof the pattern never breaks.
This progression is the same motion that generates the circle of fifths used for key signatures: moving by falling fifths through all twelve pitches traces that circle, and the diatonic circle progression is just the seven-note slice of it that lives inside one key. That link is why predominant chords like ii and IV so often lead into V by fifth-related motion, setting up the harmony this unit builds toward.
Key terms
- Circle progression
- A series of chords whose roots each fall a perfect fifth (or rise a perfect fourth) from the previous root.
- Root motion by fifth
- Movement from one chord's root to another a fifth away, the strongest root relationship in tonal harmony.
- Circle of fifths
- The arrangement of all twelve pitches in a loop by ascending or descending fifths, used to organize keys and key signatures.
- Local dominant
- A chord that temporarily behaves like a V resolving to the chord a fifth below it, even outside the actual dominant function.
Watch it explained
- How it worksHow does each root dropping a fifth make the next chord sound like a fresh dominant?
- How it worksWalk me through a complete circle progression through all seven diatonic triads.
- Worked exampleFind the roots of a circle progression that starts on iii in C major and ends on I.
- Ties togetherHow does the circle progression map onto the circle of fifths you use for key signatures?
Check yourself
End of topic.