Side Stare Circle of Fifths (Digital File)

A music theory poster worth a stare - designed for musicians, producers, educators, and creators who want both clarity and aesthetic impact. This digital artwork blends a fully functional Circle of Fifths with expressive illustration, making it equally at home in a studio, classroom, or creative workspace. This edition goes beyond a standard Circle of Fifths. It’s designed to be useful at a glance while also feeling like a piece of art—something that inspires creativity every time you look at it.

Format & Printing:

• Delivered as a high‑resolution digital file suitable for screens or print

• Optimised for printing up to A3 size without loss of detail

• Recommended print stock: 200–250 GSM for a premium, durable finish

• Works beautifully on matte, satin, or textured art paper depending on your aesthetic

Ideal For:

• Home studios and rehearsal spaces

• Music classrooms and teaching studios

• Producers and songwriters wanting a quick-reference tool

• Fans of music‑theory‑meets‑art design

• Gifts for musicians and students
  

How to read it:

• Major chords are arranged around the outer ring progressing clockwise in intervals of fifths (and anticlockwise in 4ths)

• The roman numeral filled inverted pyramid in the top right corner corresponds to the layout of the circle - let me explain:

• Let's say you're in the key of C, all of the major and minor chords touching C and also the diminished chord directly under C (in this case Bdim) make up all the chords in the key of C.

• The roman numerals describe how the chords relate to the "1" chord (or "home" or "tonic" chord) with uppercase signifying major, lowercase signifying minor, and the "degree symbol" signifying diminished. So, in the key of C, Dm is the "2" chord represented by the roman numeral "ii", F is the "4" chord represented by the IV roman numeral, and so on.

• Across the bottom of the poster the 7 chords within a given key represented by their roman numerals are written out in ascending order with the major/minor/diminished pattern displayed above, and the modes which correspond to each scale degree below - let me explain:

• Still focusing on all the chords touching C, and it's corresponding diminished as we discussed earlier, but you will be playing in E Phrygian if you're using the chords of the C major scale but using Em as the "home" chord. E Phrygian (the scale) has all the same notes as the C major scale (C Ionian), so you can say that C is the parent scale of E Phrygian. Given that all the 7 modes that share a parent scale use the same chords (i.e C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, and B Locrian) playing in a mode depends heavily on context and really making the modal home chord obvious.

• Note: vi chord is also referred to as the "relative minor". It's a lot to take in, so reach out to mitch@sidestaremusic.com if you have any questions on how to read it!