[Dixielandjazz] Using the Cycle of 5th/4ths

[Jeffmatthews111 at aol.com]

Hello All,
 
It might be useful for people trying to understand the cycle of 5ths to  
explain why it is so useful to understand their usage.
 
I am not an educator and so will leave that to people wiser than I and  
better at explaining the way it works.  Suffice it to say, that when it was  expl
ained to me by a fellow musician and demonstrated over tunes we were  playing, a 
light began to shine a little brighter. Up to then it can sound like  just 
theoretical rubbish.  Music is a wonderful thing. 
 
It might also be useful to explain that jazz that was written by 'white'  
people tended to move around the cycle towards sharper keys while music written  
by 'black' peoples tended to cycle toward flatter keys. I hope my terminology 
is  not offensive to anyone. 
 
Hope this helps someone.
 
Jeff Matthews