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Catching Up II...

   When you look at the Key of C as it sits on the circle of keys then its easy to see the tones that are not used, When you pick one of the twelve keys then you will always have five tones left. Looking at this chart you can see that any five tones next to each other create a pentatonic scale, The remaining tones are the ones that are 'outside' of the circle...

   Of the five remaining tones you will find that three of them are used for common alterations, Two of them create basic key changes and one creates the 'harmonic minor' scale, The remaining two "#2" and "#1" can be used to make yet odd scales that are not really documented...

   When you swap out the "D" tone with a "D#" then you are stepping out of the circle as you do with the harmonic minor scale, This creates an odd scale where three tones are all right next to each other, We won't go into the chords that are destroyed so just focus on it as a scale...

Key of C with a # II.

  The harmonic minor (#5) sounds more attached to the normal major scale which is not the case with the (#2), The two modes shown above are tonic duplicates and sound the same...

Key of C with a # V.

A.K.A (A harmonic minor)

   When you sharpen the "D" (II.) of the key of C then you totally destroy all of the chords, The sharpen "C" (I.) is also a true demolition of the Key of C and goes totally against the 'don't mess with the root' theory...

Key of C with a # I.

   The odd 'sharpened root' scale sounds great starting from the "A", Take note that the third mode showing above is tonically the same as the first. From the chart you can see the different scales that you can change to and still sound like you're in the Key of C...

C major scale...
F major scale (Key of C with a flattened VII.)
G major scale (Key of C with a sharpened IV.)
A harmonic minor scale (Key of C with a sharpened V.)
C Major #II. (Key of C with a sharpened II.)
C Major #I. (Key of C with a sharpened I.)

   The simplest changes (to G or F) actually sound more distant from the Key of C compared to the others, Which tone you start on (the mode) makes a big difference as well... Going outside the circle is cool but staying inside the circle is just as cool, If you take the tones used in the circle for the key of C and then put the ends together then you get a miniature circle...

   The chart above shows how the "F and C" team up and then reach out to grab a tone to create all of the basic triads and their suspended chords (three tone chords), Any two tones next to each other on the mini circle create a 'power chord' (1st and 5th) and the power chord looks for just one tone...

   When you combine the 'outside' and 'inside' of the circle tones together then you are using every tone that exist, Not 'every tone in the key of C' but 'every tone for all twelve keys'...