Cycle
C→E→A♭→C
- Notes visited
- 3
- Step size
- 4 semitones
- Closes after
- 3 moves
Three keys. Divides the octave into equal major thirds — the symmetry behind major-third tonal cycles.
How to use a cycle
Why am I practising this?expand
- What it teaches
- How symmetrical movement organises the twelve keys, and which cycles close early because they divide the octave evenly.
- Problem it solves
- Practising 'all twelve keys' in random order gives no structure; cycles give the ear a predictable destination.
- Physical skill
- Each cycle produces a different set of physical leaps between keys — fourths are comfortable, major sixths are not.
- Theory reinforced
- Twelve divided by the step size gives the number of distinct keys: major thirds close after three, minor thirds after four, tritones after two.
- Improvisation
- Symmetrical cycles are the basis of side-slipping, tonal-centre substitution and rapid modulation.
- Ear training
- Hearing when a cycle has returned home is a real skill; sing the starting note before each new key and check.
- Common mistakes
- Assuming every cycle covers twelve keys; losing the starting pitch halfway around.
- Recommended tempo
- Set the metronome so there is exactly one bar per key with no pause between keys.
- Increasing difficulty
- Run any Pattern Lab or Permutation Engine material through the cycle instead of plain scales.
- Mastered when
- You can move any material through any cycle without a gap in the time.
How to practise it
- 01Choose a cycle and note how many keys it visits.
- 02Play a single sustained root in each key first, just to hear the motion.
- 03Add a scale or arpeggio, one bar per key.
- 04Finally add a pattern cell so the material, not just the key, is being tested.
- 05Return to the starting key and check the pitch against your memory of it.