The Chromatic Circle

Presenting the ultimate tool of musical organization: The Chromatic Circle!

From this, you can see the entirety of musical possibility at once.  The largest interval possible is a straight line across the center of the circle – a tritone.  By looking at the 12-tone system this way, there are only 66 possible relationships:

-12 minor seconds
-12 major seconds
-12 minor thirds
-12 major thirds
-6 tritones

Any tonal music is based on relationships of intervals against a root – the focal point around which the other 11 tones are arranged.  With the circle, it is possible to visualize all of these relationships simultaneously.  Rapidly shifting harmony becomes a shift of the focal point, rather than a jump followed by linear construction of a new scale.  For example:  C major to E major, you might think [C D E F G A B] to [E F# G# A B C# D#]. Using the circle, you need only change your focal point from C to E.  This makes playing a tune like Giant Steps much less intimidating.

Fewer mental processes means less time thinking, more time making music.

Let me know if you like this idea, or if it’s somehow unclear so I can better explain things!