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Circle of Fifths

Interactive circle of fifths. Pick any major or minor key to see its signature, scale, diatonic chords, relative and parallel keys, and common progressions.

Mode

Enharmonic spelling

Used at the bottom of the wheel where B = Cb, F# = Gb, C# = Db.

Circle of fifths

Click any wedge to select that key. Outer ring shows major keys, inner ring shows the relative minors, innermost ring shows the number of sharps or flats in the key signature.

Circle of fifths0AmC1♯EmG2♯BmD3♯F#mA4♯C#mE5♯G#mB6♯D#mF#7♯A#mC#4♭FmAb3♭CmEb2♭GmBb1♭DmFACCIDENTALSin key signature
Selected major key
Selected minor key
Inner number = sharps or flats

Selected key

CMajor

No accidentals

Major scale

1C2D3E4F5G6A7B

Diatonic triads

RomanChordQualityDegree
ICmajorTonic
iiDmminorSupertonic
iiiEmminorMediant
IVFmajorSubdominant
VGmajorDominant
viAmminorSubmediant
vii°B°diminishedLeading tone

Closely related keys

These five keys differ from C major by no more than one accidental and share at least six scale notes, so modulating to them sounds smooth.

Common progressions in C major

Roman numerals on the left; the same progression written with actual chord names from C major on the right.

  • Pop axis (I-V-vi-IV)

    I - V - vi - IV

    C - G - Am - F

    The four chords behind a huge fraction of modern pop and worship songs.

  • 12-bar blues kernel (I-IV-V)

    I - IV - V

    C - F - G

    The backbone of blues, early rock, and country.

  • Doo-wop (I-vi-IV-V)

    I - vi - IV - V

    C - Am - F - G

    The 1950s ballad progression. Sometimes written I-vi-ii-V.

  • Jazz cadence (ii-V-I)

    ii - V - I

    Dm - G - C

    The most common cadence in jazz and bebop standards.

  • Pachelbel (I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V)

    I - V - vi - iii - IV - I - IV - V

    C - G - Am - Em - F - C - F - G

    Pachelbel's Canon. Used in countless pop covers.

  • Sensitive female (vi-IV-I-V)

    vi - IV - I - V

    Am - F - C - G

    Same chord set as I-V-vi-IV but starting on the relative minor.

  • Folk (I-IV-I-V)

    I - IV - I - V

    C - F - C - G

    Standard folk and country two-feel.

How to read the circle of fifths

  • Outer ring shows the 12 major keys. Move one wedge clockwise to go up a perfect fifth and add one sharp (or remove one flat). Move counter-clockwise to go up a perfect fourth and add one flat (or remove one sharp).
  • Inner ring shows the relative minor of each major key. Relative major and minor share the same key signature. C major and A minor both have zero accidentals.
  • Innermost number shows how many sharps or flats the key signature contains. The order of sharps is F, C, G, D, A, E, B; the order of flats is the reverse: B, E, A, D, G, C, F.
  • Bottom of the wheel has three enharmonic pairs: B major equals Cb major, F sharp major equals Gb major, and C sharp major equals Db major. Toggle the spelling preference above to switch between sharp and flat names.

What it is useful for

  • Finding the key of a song. Match the accidentals in the sheet music against the wheel. Two sharps means D major or B minor. Pick the one whose tonic lands on beat one of the chorus.
  • Modulation. Keys that touch on the wheel share six out of seven scale notes, so jumping to a neighbour or to a relative minor is one of the smoothest modulations in tonal music.
  • Writing chord progressions. The seven diatonic triads above are the chords that naturally fit the key. Most pop songs are built from I, IV, V, and vi in some order.
  • Transposing. To transpose a progression from one key to another, read the Roman numerals in the source key and apply them to the diatonic triads of the target key shown on this page.

How to use

  1. Click any wedge on the wheel to select a key. The outer ring is the 12 major keys; the inner ring is the relative minors.
  2. Use the Major or Minor toggle above to switch the selected key between its major and minor mode (or click the inner ring directly to land on a minor key).
  3. Read the result panel for the key signature, scale notes, and the seven diatonic triads with their Roman numerals and scale-degree names.
  4. Use the Closely related keys card to see the dominant (V), subdominant (IV), relative, and parallel keys, and click any tile to jump to that key.
  5. Scroll to the Common progressions card to see the most-used pop, jazz, blues, and minor-key progressions written in the selected key, and use Copy chords to grab any one as plain text.
  6. Switch the spelling toggle between Sharps and Flats to change how the three enharmonic keys at the bottom of the wheel (B/Cb, F#/Gb, C#/Db) are displayed.

About this tool

Circle of Fifths is the interactive music theory wheel that every songwriter, guitarist, pianist, producer, and arranger eventually has to memorise. It arranges all 12 major and 12 minor keys clockwise by perfect fifths, so every neighbour on the wheel differs by exactly one accidental in its key signature. C major sits at the top with zero sharps or flats; one step clockwise is G major with one sharp (F#); one step counter-clockwise is F major with one flat (Bb). Walking the wheel sharp-wise stacks the sharps in the order F C G D A E B, and walking it flat-wise stacks the flats in the reverse order B E A D G C F. Click any wedge to pick a key. The result panel shows the key signature with the actual accidental note names, the seven-note scale spelled with one letter per degree (no double letters and no double sharps for the standard keys), and the diatonic triads with their Roman numerals (I ii iii IV V vi vii° in major; i ii° III iv v VI VII in natural minor) and scale-degree names (tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone or subtonic). The closely related keys card surfaces the dominant (V), subdominant (IV), relative major or minor, parallel major or minor, and both adjacent relative minors, which are the five smoothest modulation targets in tonal music. A progressions card writes out the most common pop, blues, jazz, doo-wop, folk, and minor-key chord progressions (I-V-vi-IV, I-IV-V, ii-V-I, vi-IV-I-V, i-VI-III-VII, i-VII-VI-V, and more) using the actual chord names from the selected key, so they are ready to paste into a chord chart, lead sheet, or rehearsal note. The three enharmonic pairs at the bottom of the wheel (B = Cb, F# = Gb, C# = Db) have a spelling toggle so you can switch between sharp and flat names without losing your selection. Everything is fixed music theory and is computed in the browser using the major and natural-minor scale formulas plus the standard key-signature table; nothing is uploaded. Useful for finding the key of a song from its sheet music, transposing a progression from one key to another, picking smooth modulation targets, working out diatonic chords for songwriting, sight-reading practice, ear-training drills, and as a quick reference next to a piano or fretboard.

Free to use. Works in your browser. No signup, no login.

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