Circle of fifths
Tap a key on the wheel. The highlighted wedge shows its closest family — the six chords you can use in that key — and the panel lists its signature and scale.
C major
- Key signature
- no sharps or flats
- Relative minor
- Scale
- C D E F G A B
- Neighbouring keys
- F and G
Chords in this key
Why the circle works
Start on C and count up seven half steps: you land on G. Do it again and you reach D, then A, E, B and F♯. Twelve fifths later you’re back on C — every key visited exactly once. That’s the circle.
Each step clockwise changes exactly one note of the scale. G major is C major with F raised to F♯; D major then raises C to C♯. So the order of sharps (F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯) falls straight out of the circle, and going counter-clockwise the flats appear in reverse (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭).
Because neighbours differ by just one note, they share most of their chords. That’s why the highlighted wedge — your key plus one step either way — contains the I, IV and V chords on the outer ring and ii, iii and vi on the inner ring. Try it: select C and the wedge covers F, C, G, Dm, Am and Em — exactly the six main chords of C major.
Build progressions from those chords in the chord progression generator, or read more about relative minor keys.
Key signatures table
| Major key | Relative minor | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| C | Am | none |
| G | Em | F♯ |
| D | Bm | F♯ C♯ |
| A | F♯m | F♯ C♯ G♯ |
| E | C♯m | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ |
| B | G♯m | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ |
| F♯ / G♭ | D♯m / E♭m | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ |
| D♭ / C♯ | B♭m / A♯m | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ |
| A♭ | Fm | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ |
| E♭ | Cm | B♭ E♭ A♭ |
| B♭ | Gm | B♭ E♭ |
| F | Dm | B♭ |
Questions
What is the circle of fifths?
A diagram of the 12 major keys (outer ring) and their relative minors (inner ring), arranged so each step clockwise goes up a perfect fifth — C, G, D, A… Each clockwise step adds one sharp to the key signature; each counter-clockwise step adds one flat.
How do you use the circle of fifths?
Use it to read key signatures, find relative minors, and pick chords: the key you’re in and its two neighbours give you the I, IV and V chords (in C: C, F and G), and the three minor keys beneath them give ii, iii and vi (Dm, Em, Am).
How do you remember the order of sharps and flats?
Sharps are added in the order F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯ — “Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle”. Flats are the same list backwards: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭ — “Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father”.
How do I memorize the circle of fifths?
Learn the sharp keys first: C G D A E B F♯, each a fifth higher (“Good Deeds Are Easy But Few” for G D A E B F♯). The flat side is the order of flats with F in front: F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭. Then remember that each relative minor is three half steps below its major — the inner ring follows automatically.
Why do F♯ and G♭ share a spot?
They are enharmonic: the same keys on the piano, spelled two ways. F♯ major has six sharps and G♭ major has six flats. At the bottom of the circle, the sharp side and flat side meet.
Why is it built on fifths?
Two keys a fifth apart share six of their seven notes, so neighbours on the circle are the most closely related keys. Moving between them sounds smooth, which is why so many songs modulate to the key a fifth up or down.