Interactive Circle of Fifths

The songwriter's map of how keys relate. Each step clockwise adds a sharp; each step anti-clockwise adds a flat. The outer ring is the major key, the inner ring its relative minor. Click any key to see its notes and key signature.

Then take any key into the scale finder or build its chords in the progression generator.

How it works

Each step clockwise moves up a perfect fifth (seven semitones) and adds one sharp; each step anticlockwise moves up a fourth and adds one flat.

clockwise:      C G D A E B F♯ C♯   (+1 sharp per step)
anticlockwise:  C F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭   (+1 flat per step)

relative minor = 3 semitones below the major root

Twelve fifths return to where they started, which is what closes the circle in equal temperament.

Worked example

• G major is one step clockwise from C: one sharp (F♯)
• D major is two steps: two sharps (F♯, C♯)
• F major is one step anticlockwise: one flat (B♭)
• A minor is the relative minor of C — three semitones below, same notes

In practice

• Adjacent keys share all but one note, which is why modulating to the fourth or fifth is so smooth and so common.
• Sharps are added in the order F C G D A E B; flats in exactly the reverse. Two sentences to memorise that replace a lot of counting.
• The last sharp is one semitone below the key; the second-to-last flat names the key. Quick way to read a key signature.
• Progressions that move by fifths — the circle-of-fifths sequence — feel inevitable, which is why jazz standards use them so heavily.

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