The circle of fifths
Every key, arranged so that each one clockwise is a perfect fifth higher and has one more sharp, or one fewer flat. Click a key to see its signature and hear its chord.
No sharps or flats
C major and A minor
Click a key on the circle. Major keys are round the outside, their relative minors inside.
How the circle works
Start at C major, at the top, with no sharps or flats. Go clockwise and each key is a perfect fifth above the last: G, D, A, E, B, F♯. Each adds one sharp, and it’s always the next one in the order F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯. Go anticlockwise from C and each key is a fifth lower (a fourth higher): F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, each adding the next flat in the order B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭.
At the bottom the two directions meet. B major and C♭ major, F♯ major and G♭ major, C♯ major and D♭ major are each one key on the piano with two spellings. Musicians usually pick whichever has fewer signs.
Relative minors
Inside the ring are the minor keys. Each shares its signature with the major key beside it: A minor with C major, E minor with G major. The relative minor starts on the sixth note of the major scale, three half steps below the major key’s home note.
Neighbours make good company
Keys next to each other share six of their seven notes, so music moves between them smoothly. The neighbours are also a key’s most important chords: in C major, F (to the left) is the IV chord and G (to the right) is the V chord. Together with C itself, those three chords harmonise a huge number of songs. The minor chords just inside them (Dm, Am, Em) are the ii, vi and iii chords.
Using it at the piano
- Reading: count the sharps or flats and count that many steps from C to know the key.
- Practising scales: go round the circle, so each new scale adds just one black key.
- Playing by ear: if a song is in G, the chords you’ll need first are G, C and D, and then Em, Am and Bm.
Questions
What is the circle of fifths?
A diagram of all the keys, each a perfect fifth above the one before it going clockwise: C, G, D, A, E, B, F♯, then round through the flat keys back to C. Each step clockwise adds one sharp to the key signature (or takes away a flat).
How do you use the circle of fifths?
To find a key signature (count the steps from C), a key’s relative minor (inside the ring), and the keys and chords closest to a key (its neighbours either side). In C major, the neighbours F and G are the IV and V chords, the most common chords after C itself.
Why is it called the circle of fifths?
Going clockwise, each key’s home note is a perfect fifth above the last (C up to G, G up to D). After twelve fifths you are back on C, seven octaves higher, so the keys close into a circle.
Why do some places have two keys?
At the bottom, the sharp and flat keys meet: B major (5 sharps) sounds the same as C♭ major (7 flats), F♯ major (6 sharps) as G♭ major (6 flats), and C♯ major (7 sharps) as D♭ major (5 flats). Same keys on the piano, spelt differently.
Every key, in its own time
Pianomi, a free sight-reading app for piano, starts in C and brings in new keys around the circle as your reading is ready for them.