THE COLTRANE CIRCLE
In 1967, saxophone player, John Coltrane created a diagram based on the Circle of Fifths.
Known as “The Coltrane Circle” or “Coltrane’s Circle of Tones”, the outer ring represents the whole-tone /hexatonic scale (a hexatonic musical scale contains six different tones within an octave) of the note ‘Do” and the inner ring represents the whole-tone /hexatonic scale of the note “Si”.
As you can see, a five-pointed star can be drawn to connect all the ‘Do” notes of the scale.
The Coltrane Circle is believed to have been created by Coltrane during a period when he undertook an in-depth study of Indian music along with a study of some of the theories of Albert Einstein. Despite the depth of his knowledge, Coltrane spoke very little about music theory. His knowledge, however, is clearly reflected in his famed compositions.
Many more “musical mandalas” can be created by connecting different points around the Circle of Fifths. Here is a digital diagram connecting the 5ths, whole tones, minor 3rds, major 3rds, chromatics, and tritones using various colourful lines.