Circle of Fifths
An interactive circle of fifths: click any key to see its key signature, scale and the chords that belong to it, and hear them played.
Click a key to choose it; click it again to hear its chord. Keyboard: Tab to the circle, ← → move around it, ↑ ↓ switch between the major and minor ring, Enter plays.
How to use the circle of fifths interactive chart
The circle of fifths is a chart of the 12 major keys and their relative minors, each a fifth from its neighbours; in this interactive version you click any key to see its key signature, scale and chords, and hear them played. The outer ring of the circle of fifths holds the twelve major keys, the inner ring their relative minors. Click a key and the panel shows its key signature, its relative major or minor, the notes of its scale and the seven chords that belong to it, with Roman numerals. Click a chord to hear it, or press Play the chords to hear all seven in order and Scale to hear the scale. Click the selected key again to hear its home chord. Seventh chords adds the 7th to every chord, and Turn the key to the top rotates the circle so the key you picked is at twelve o'clock.
The shaded neighbours are the chords closest to your key: in a major key, IV to the left and V to the right, and ii, iii and vi just inside. On a keyboard, press Tab to reach the circle, then use the left and right arrow keys to move around it and the up and down arrow keys to switch between the major and minor ring.
How to read the circle of fifths
Going clockwise round the circle of fifths chart from C, each key is a perfect fifth higher than the one before and has one more sharp: G has one sharp, D two, A three, and so on. Going counterclockwise, each key is a fifth lower (a fourth higher) and has one more flat: F has one flat, Bb two, Eb three. That is also why the same circle read counterclockwise is sometimes called the circle of fourths.
At the bottom the two sides meet. F# major, with 6 sharps, and Gb major, with 6 flats, are the same keys on a piano, spelled two ways; the same goes for B major and Cb major, and for Db major and C# major. The circle shows both names, the one with fewer accidentals in larger type, and the button in the panel switches to the other spelling.
Relative minor keys
Each minor key inside the circle shares its key signature with the major key outside it. A minor and C major have no sharps or flats; E minor and G major have one sharp. The relative minor starts on the 6th note of the major scale, three half steps below the major root. The key signatures chart draws every one of them on the staff, and the song key finder tells you which key a recording is in.
Order of sharps and flats
Sharps are added in the order F C G D A E B, which is itself a walk clockwise round the circle. Flats are added in the reverse order, B E A D G C F. So a key with three sharps has F#, C# and G#, and a key with three flats has Bb, Eb and Ab. Two quick rules: in a sharp key the last sharp is a half step below the key note (the last sharp of A major is G#), and in a flat key the second to last flat is the key note (the flats of Eb major are Bb Eb Ab).
Using the circle for chords and progressions
The chords of a key are its neighbours on the circle. In C major the chords are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim: C with F and G on either side of it, and Am, Dm and Em just inside. That is why I IV V and ii V I sound so natural: they move between neighbours. To change key smoothly, move to a neighbouring key, which differs by only one sharp or flat. Try these ideas with the chord progression generator, or play the chords yourself on the online piano.
Harmonica players use the circle too: second position, or cross harp, plays in the key a fifth above the harp, so a C harmonica plays in G. The harmonica notes chart works out every position this way.
Questions
What is the circle of fifths used for?
It shows how the keys relate: how many sharps or flats each key has, which minor key shares each key signature, and which chords belong together. Keys next to each other on the circle share all but one note.
Which key has 6 sharps?
F# major and its relative minor, D# minor. The same keys spelled with flats are Gb major and Eb minor, with 6 flats.
How do I find the relative minor on the circle?
It is the key inside the ring, next to the major key. For any major key it starts on the 6th note of the major scale.
Why is it called the circle of fifths?
Because each step clockwise moves the key up a perfect fifth, and after twelve steps you are back where you started.