Relationship of Fourths, Fifths, and Half-Steps
The Wheel of Intervals
The wheel diagram below is a great way to visualize the seven interval patterns that exist naturally on the guitar:
Starting at the center and moving outwards you will see a series of chromatic intervals in descending order,
e.g. 1, 7,♭7, 6,♭6, 5…
Going clockwise on any level of the wheel and you will move in fourths,
e.g. 1 – 4 – ♭7 – ♭3 – ♭6 – ♭2…
Going counterclockwise on any level of the wheel and you will move in fifths,
e.g. 1 – 5 – 2 – 6 – 3 – 7….
The inverse relationship of fourths and fifths is also apparent on your fretboard. Remember, going across your strings from low to high moves you in ascending fourths (7-3-6-2-5-1). If you do the same pattern backwards (1-5-2-6-3-7), you’ll be playing descending fifths. See picture above.
If you skip over every other interval on the wheel while moving clockwise, you will find a pattern of minor sevenths,
e.g. 1 – ♭7 – ♭6….
If you skip over every other interval on the wheel while moving counter-clockwise, you will find a pattern of major seconds,
e.g. 1 – 2 – 3….
If you skip over every two intervals on the wheel while moving clockwise, you will find a pattern of minor thirds,
e.g. 1 – ♭3 – ♭5 – 6….
If you skip over every two intervals on the wheel while moving counter-clockwise, you will find a pattern of major sixths,
e.g. 1 – 6 – ♭5 – ♭3….
