Artist Statement:

Circle of Fifths is an interactive musical installation made of 12 tone pipes of varying color and height spaced evenly on the circumference of a 5' 8" diameter circle. Each aluminum tone pipe is tuned to 1 of 12 notes that make up the Western chromatic music scale. Viewers can play almost any melody their heart desires by using any of the 4 hand mallets secured to the sculpture via cables. The Circle of Fifths title refers to the relationship between two notes essential to song structure: the "tonic" and "dominant," or the first or fifth note in a musical scale. A song is typically played in a scale composed of 5-7 of the 12 notes. The first note of a scale is the tonic and the fifth note is the dominant. The tonic and dominant have an important harmonic relationship in most of the songs we hear on a day to day basis (i.e. in pop, rock, classical, country music, etc.), and this tonic-dominant relationship can be explored both audibly and visually in the sculpture. Lines in the center of the base connect each tonic to its dominant and also intersect to create a colorful and symmetrical geometric design. All people, regardless of their age, are welcome to play music on this installation and possibly learn a bit more about music theory in the process.