Keys
The circle of fifths
The circle of fifths arranges the 12 major keys so that each one is a perfect fifth above the one before it. Going clockwise from C, every step adds one sharp to the key signature; going counter-clockwise, every step adds one flat. The inner ring shows each key's relative minor, which shares its key signature.
Explore the circle
Tap a key on the outer ring for the major key, or on the inner ring for its relative minor.
Play the scale of this key
Start on C and tap each note of the C major scale going up.
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- A
- B
How to read the circle of fifths
Start at C at the top: no sharps, no flats. Each step clockwise goes up a perfect fifth (seven semitones), to G, D, A and so on, and the key signature gains one sharp. Each step counter-clockwise goes down a fifth, to F, B♭, E♭, and the key signature gains one flat. At the bottom the two sides meet: B, F♯/G♭ and C♯/D♭ are the same pitches written with sharps or with flats. After 12 steps you are back at C.
The order of sharps
Sharps always join a key signature in the same order: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯, B♯. G major has the first one, D major the first two, and so on round the circle. A common way to remember it is "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle". In a sharp key, the last sharp is a half step below the key's name: with F♯, C♯ and G♯, the key is A major.
The order of flats
Flats join in the reverse order: B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭, F♭ ("Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father"). F major has one flat; from B♭ major on, the second-to-last flat names the key: with B♭, E♭ and A♭, the key is E♭ major.
Relative minor keys
Every major key shares its key signature with a minor key, its relative minor, which starts on the sixth note of the major scale (three half steps below the major key's tonic). C major and A minor both have no sharps or flats; G major and E minor both have one sharp. That is why the inner ring follows the outer one step for step.
Finding the chords of a key
Pick a major key on the circle. Its two neighbours are the other two major chords of that key: the one counter-clockwise is IV, the one clockwise is V. The three minor keys underneath that slice are the key's minor chords: ii, iii and vi. So C, F and G with Dm, Em and Am, six of the seven chords in C major, sit together in one slice; only the diminished chord, B°, is not on the circle.
Chord progressions that move round the circle
Chords whose roots move counter-clockwise, down a fifth each time, sound like they are heading home: V to I is the strongest pull in tonal music, and ii–V–I, the backbone of jazz, is two such steps in a row. Longer chains such as vi–ii–V–I keep stepping round the circle until they land on the tonic.
Changing key
Keys next to each other on the circle differ by only one note, so a song moves smoothly into its neighbour, usually the dominant key one step clockwise or the subdominant one step counter-clockwise. Keys on opposite sides of the circle, such as C and F♯, share very few notes and sound far apart.
Every key, one page each
Each key page has its key signature, scale, chords and FAQ, and a keyboard to play the scale on.