@ELCBK  

Forget about the Circle of Fifths!  It’s just a picture… and a new picture, at that. It is “NOT to scale” and that warning should have been included by the artist who originated this modern graphic with great artistic license.  It’s kind of like the ancient flash cards of  times tables, or more like a wall chart of times tables, a reference chart without an explanation of the underlying concepts. The Circle of Fifths pictorial did not exist in my world when I had my early music training.  Did this arise from the internet? (I think two linear graphics would be more apropos.)

The best way to eliminate the need for this graphic:

When you play your major scales, also practice your 3-note major arpeggios, the 1, 3, 5 notes, and say the name of each note out loud.  G major, G, B, D then D, B, G.  D major, D, F sharp, A then A, F sharp, D.  One-stop shopping.  You will learn better intonation, the major chords, the notes required for double stop chords, essential intervals, and sharps and flats (as opposed to this modern teaching tool of referring to naturals, flats, and sharps as low and high finger positions), plus ear training.

There, it’s now in your head and fingers for good.  Looking for the relative minor from the Circle of Fifths picture? Since you now have internalized your fifths, simply go up one step in your brain to the sixth. Voila! the relative minor.  The Perfect Fourth? There it is, in your brain and fingers, one step down from the fifth.  (So now we only have a few basic intervals left to complete the scale. Toggle up a step from your root, Do, to find the major second.  Toggle down a step from your root to find your commonly referred to seventh. Toggle down a half step from your root to find your major seventh.)  

This is an over simplification, and a great way to internalize the basics.  Once it’s second nature, the rest will unfold over time in manageable bites: minor intervals, augmented, diminished, more precise interval names, flavors of minors, etc.)

So let’s demystify the buggy graphic.  Play the open G string on the violin, then the open D string:  that’s an interval of a perfect fifth.  Now play an open open D string followed by the note G, third finger on the D string, which is of course a perfect fourth.  Play around with various approaches to these intervals.  It will make sense.  The best advice: the brilliant internet fiddle teacher Jason Kleinberg from FiddleHed always says to “Play your theory.”

Emily, I know that your knowledge is more advanced than much of what I’m explaining. I am not being condescending.  I am keeping it basic to reach any level of confused soul reeling from the looming “Circle of Fifths” who may stumble upon this post.

Cheers.