John Coltrane sketched a diagram for Yusef Lateef: the chromatic scale arranged in circles, lines and circles identifying relationships. Lateef later referenced it in his Repository of Scales and Melodic Patterns. At its core, the drawing is the circle of fifths, familiar to most musicians.
Coltrane's version fills in the circle with chromatic scales, separated into two circles of whole steps, that join the fifths. Lines then trace different harmonic relationships between the notes, uncovering shapes that reveal the chord structures behind "Giant Steps", arguably Coltrane's most famous harmonic experiment. The large notes around the outside form the circle of fourths: moving clockwise from C, each note is a perfect fourth above the last (C, F, B, E, and so on).
Between each pair sit four smaller notes that climb chromatically, alternating between an outer and inner ring. The circular band inside the chromatic scale contains scale degrees for the fourths, measured from the note at the top.
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