Coltrane’s Circle
This jazz legend created the “Coltrane Circle,” a variation of the Circle of Fourths and Fifths.
Who is John Coltrane?
Coltrane’s diagram can be overlaid with this sacred symbol made of 61 circles.
What is the Flower of Life?
This jazz great once said, “All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.”
Who is Monk?
Coltrane called his music a spiritual expression of this.
What is “my faith, my knowledge, my being”?
This common jazz chord progression, revealed in Coltrane’s Circle, forms a Hexagram when its root movements are connected.
What is the II–V progression?
The Coltrane Circle includes this many unique tones arranged in a circular structure.
What is 60?
When chords are viewed geometrically in the Circle, these two shapes can be drawn, symbolizing duality and spiritual balance.
What are the Hexagram and Pentagram?
Coltrane’s interest in geometry and symmetry is evident in this property of his hexatonic scales, where any tone can be the tonic.
What is rotational symmetry?
The sacred geometric form used to connect with higher realms is known as this.
What is the Merkaba?
The “Giant Steps” progression moves in these wide intervallic leaps, a defining feature of Coltrane’s harmonic language.
What are major thirds?
The outer ring of Coltrane’s Circle is based on this type of hexatonic scale.
What is the Whole Tone Scale (C Hexatonic)?
The Flower of Life aligns with trigon points like C–E–Ab and G–B–Eb to form this recurring geometric figure.
What are interlocking hexagons?
This Russian-American theorist influenced Coltrane with his “Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns.”
Who is Nicolas Slonimsky?
Coltrane’s musical diagrams reflect his interest in the esoteric and mystical, also referred to as this.
What is the occult?
Each ring in Coltrane’s Circle contains this many versions of the same hexatonic scale.
What is six?
The inner ring of the Coltrane Circle begins on this pitch and also contains six notes.
What is B (B Hexatonic Scale)?
The union of the Hexagram and Pentagram in Coltrane’s model represents this Hermetic principle.
What is “As Above, So Below”?
Coltrane’s Circle connects music theory with this science that studies shape, quantity, and patterns.
What is Mathematics?
The Circle’s inclusion of sacred symbols like the Seed of Life and Metatron’s Cube suggests Coltrane’s fascination with this philosophical idea.
What is metaphysics?
Coltrane’s harmonic approach connects directly to this kind of structural balance and repetition found in both music and design.
What is symmetry?
The sequence formed by alternating between the inner and outer ring tones creates this classic musical pattern.
What is the Circle of Fourths?
The Star Tetrahedron, represented by the Hexagram in Coltrane’s Circle, is also known by this mystical name.
What is the Merkaba?
Joseph Schillinger’s “System of Musical Composition” influenced Coltrane’s work in combining music with this analytical subject.
What is Mathematical Logic or Algorithmic Composition?
By integrating spiritual geometry and music, Coltrane aimed to unite this pair of seemingly opposing concepts.
What are the microcosm and macrocosm?
The tonal shifts in “Giant Steps” reflect Coltrane’s use of this compositional technique, moving quickly between distant key centers.
What is chordal or tonal modulation (or coltrane changes)?