Tools
Interactive Circle of Fifths
The circle of fifths arranges all 12 major and minor keys so that neighbouring keys share all but one note. Click a key to see its key signature, its relative minor, the notes of its scale and the chords that belong to it, and play them to hear how they sound. It runs in your browser, nothing to install.
How to use it
- Click a major key on the outer ring or a minor key on the inner ring.
- Read the key signature and the scale notes shown for that key.
- Look at the highlighted neighbours: they are the closest related keys.
- Play the diatonic chords to hear the sound of the key.
- Move one step clockwise to add a sharp, counter-clockwise to add a flat.
What the circle of fifths is good for
The circle answers the questions every musician runs into: how many sharps or flats does a key have, which minor key shares the same notes, and which chords will sound good together. Instead of memorising 24 separate keys, you learn one pattern.
- Key signatures: moving clockwise from C, each key adds one sharp (G, D, A, E, B, F#). Moving counter-clockwise, each key adds one flat (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb).
- Relative minors: the inner ring shows the minor key with the same signature. A minor shares the notes of C major, E minor those of G major.
- Related keys: the keys directly left and right of your key differ by only one note. Modulating to them sounds smooth and natural.
- Chord progressions: the three major keys next to each other (for example F, C, G) give you the I, IV and V chords of the middle key. Their relative minors give you ii, iii and vi.
Tips for using it
Try this: pick a key, play its six most common chords, then step one position clockwise and compare. Only one chord changes from major to minor or vice versa. That is why songs often borrow chords from neighbouring keys.
The order of sharps (F C G D A E B) and the order of flats (B E A D G C F) also come straight from the circle. Once you see them on the wheel, writing key signatures by hand becomes easy.
Keep learning
Read the full circle of fifths lesson for the theory step by step, then the lesson on key signatures. Test yourself with the key signatures worksheet and hang the printable circle of fifths poster above your music stand. To work out which key a song is in from its chords, use the key finder; to hear the chords of a key in a progression, open the progression player.