It’s true … squares and circles really are everywhere. And they’re more than just the inspiration for song lyrics. Over thousands of years, these two basic shapes have worked their way into our everyday lives. Maybe it’s because they each have such a simple design. The square, with its solid corners … and the circle, with its nice, smooth curve.

In fact, these shapes work so well together, they show up in everything from applied mathematics …

… to architecture …

… to art and anatomy …

… to nature itself …

There’s something very basic about squares and circles that’s easy to understand. They are primitive … and, frankly, sort of obvious. I mean, it’s easy to tell them apart. Yet they’re both so simple.

So it’s no wonder they are perfect for showing interval patterns in music. Without a word, they immediately explain half-steps and whole-steps. And they make it easy to break down the entire chromatic scale. It’s pretty sweet. So thank you, squares and circles. You make the life of a musician so much easier.