Coltrane Changes (Bare Cycle) I-III-bVI-I
Piano sound loads on first tap. Resolved in the key of C — every chord links to its full analysis.
The stripped-down skeleton behind John Coltrane's 'Giant Steps': three major triads a major third apart (I, III, bVI) dividing the octave into three equal parts, with no approach dominants — just the raw symmetry that makes Coltrane changes sound like they're modulating everywhere at once.
What each degree does
Feels like home — complete rest, where the piece departs from and returns to. The major tonic, where everything settles.
The MAJOR third degree — a striking chromatic mediant (the 'Creep' colour), a major triad where the diatonic mode called for a minor iii.
The flat sixth major — borrowed from the minor mode, a dramatic, epic colour. It falls over the key like a large shadow before the dominant.
Feels like home — complete rest, where the piece departs from and returns to. The major tonic, where everything settles.