HearmonyThe Circle of Fifths: How to Read It and Use It
The circle of fifths is a diagram of all 12 major keys arranged like a clock, each one a perfect fifth above the last: C at the top, then G, D, A, E, B and so on clockwise. Every step clockwise adds one sharp to the key signature, and every step counterclockwise adds one flat. The inner ring shows each key's relative minor, so one picture tells you key signatures, which keys are closely related and which chords belong together.
What is the circle of fifths?
The circle of fifths is a map of how the 12 keys relate to each other. Start on C and go up a perfect fifth (seven half steps) to G, up another fifth to D, and keep going. After 12 fifths you land on C again, having touched every note of the chromatic scale once.
Going the other way, down a fifth each time (C, F, B♭, E♭…), is the same circle read counterclockwise. That direction is often called the circle of fourths, because going down a fifth lands on the same note name as going up a fourth. It is not a different diagram, just the other direction.
At the bottom of the circle, F♯ major (six sharps) and G♭ major (six flats) sound identical on a piano. They are enharmonic: the same keys spelled two ways. That overlap is what closes the loop.
The circle of fifths chart, key by key
Here is the whole circle as a table, read clockwise from 12 o'clock. Each row gives the major key, its key signature and the relative minor that shares it.
| Clock position | Major key | Key signature | Relative minor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | C | no sharps or flats | A minor |
| 1 | G | 1 sharp: F♯ | E minor |
| 2 | D | 2 sharps: F♯ C♯ | B minor |
| 3 | A | 3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ | F♯ minor |
| 4 | E | 4 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ | C♯ minor |
| 5 | B (= C♭) | 5 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ | G♯ minor |
| 6 | F♯ / G♭ | 6 sharps (…E♯) or 6 flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭) | D♯ minor / E♭ minor |
| 7 | D♭ (= C♯) | 5 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ | B♭ minor |
| 8 | A♭ | 4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ | F minor |
| 9 | E♭ | 3 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ | C minor |
| 10 | B♭ | 2 flats: B♭ E♭ | G minor |
| 11 | F | 1 flat: B♭ | D minor |
Two keys marked "=" have enharmonic twins with seven accidentals: B major can also be written as C♭ major (7 flats), and D♭ major as C♯ major (7 sharps). You will meet the seven-accidental versions rarely; most music uses the simpler spelling.
How do you read the circle of fifths?
You read the circle by counting steps from C: the number of steps clockwise is the number of sharps, and the number of steps counterclockwise is the number of flats. E is four steps clockwise, so E major has four sharps. E♭ is three steps counterclockwise, so it has three flats.
The circle also tells you which sharps or flats. Sharps are added in the order F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯, which is itself a chain of fifths. Flats are added in the reverse order, B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭. A common memory aid is "Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle" for sharps, read backward for flats ("Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father").
Two patterns explain why it works:
- Each new sharp is the leading tone of the new key. G major adds F♯, its 7th degree. D major adds C♯, its 7th degree.
- Each new flat is the 4th degree of the new key. F major adds B♭, its 4th degree. B♭ major adds E♭, its 4th degree.
The full set of tricks for naming a key from its signature, and the order of sharps and flats on the staff, are on the key signatures chart page.
How to use the circle of fifths
The circle earns its place when you use it for more than key signatures. These are the four everyday jobs it does.
1. Find the relative minor
Every major key shares its signature with a minor key three half steps lower: C major and A minor, G major and E minor, E♭ major and C minor. On most printed charts the minor keys sit in an inner ring, directly under their partner. Our relative minor guide lists all 12 pairs and explains how to tell them apart by ear.
2. See which keys are closely related
Neighbors on the circle differ by only one note. C major and G major share six of their seven notes; only F becomes F♯. That is why music moves so easily to the key one step clockwise (the dominant key) or one step counterclockwise (the subdominant key), and why a key change to the opposite side of the circle sounds far more dramatic.
3. Find the chords of any key
Take a key and its two neighbors: those are the three major chords of the key, IV, I and V. Their relative minors are the three minor chords, ii, vi and iii. In C major that slice of the circle gives you F, C, G and Dm, Am, Em, which are six of the seven chords in the key. The seventh, B diminished (vii°), is the one chord the slice leaves out.
| Key | IV – I – V (major) | ii – vi – iii (minor) |
|---|---|---|
| C major | F – C – G | Dm – Am – Em |
| G major | C – G – D | Am – Em – Bm |
| D major | G – D – A | Em – Bm – F♯m |
| F major | B♭ – F – C | Gm – Dm – Am |
4. Follow progressions that move by fifths
Many progressions walk counterclockwise around the circle, with each chord's root falling a fifth to the next. ii–V–I in C is Dm–G–C, two steps counterclockwise. Add one more step and you get vi–ii–V–I (Am–Dm–G–C). Ragtime and early jazz stretch the chain further with dominant sevenths: E7–A7–D7–G7–C. Once you see this pattern, a lot of chord charts stop looking random. The ii–V–I progression has its own page.
How do you hear the circle of fifths?
You hear the circle as a pull: a chord built on the fifth degree wants to fall to the chord a fifth below it. V to I is the strongest arrival in tonal music, and every counterclockwise step on the circle repeats that pull in a new key.
- Play a C major chord, then a G7 chord (G B D F), then C again. Notice how G7 feels like a question and C like the answer.
- Now play G7 and stop. Hum the chord you expect next. It should be C.
- Play the chain E7–A7–D7–G7–C slowly, one chord per bar. Each chord sounds like it is "falling forward" into the next one, and the last C feels like landing.
- Reverse it: C–G–D–A–E, moving clockwise. Each step sounds brighter, but none of them feels like an arrival.
- Self-test: have someone play either V–I or IV–I in a random key, and say which one you heard. V–I sounds like a firm "the end"; IV–I sounds softer, like the "Amen" at the end of a hymn.
Do the V–I exercise in three different keys a day, using the table above to find V. You are training your ear to feel the dominant pull, not to memorize chord names, so the key itself doesn't matter.
Common mistakes with the circle of fifths
Most confusion comes from mixing up the direction or the spelling. These are the usual traps.
- Counting fifths in the wrong direction. Clockwise is up a fifth and adds sharps. If you count C, F, B♭ and call that "the circle of fifths", you are on the circle of fourths.
- Spelling flat keys with sharps. E♭ major has B♭ E♭ A♭, never A♯ D♯ G♯. A key uses only sharps or only flats in its signature.
- Treating relative minor as a different signature. A minor and C major use exactly the same notes. What changes is the home note, which you hear rather than read. Our guide to finding the key of a song covers how to tell them apart.
- Memorizing the diagram without using it. The circle is a tool. Use it once a day to find the I, IV and V of a song you are playing, and it sticks on its own.
Practice the circle of fifths in Hearmony
Hearmony trains the listening side of the circle. In the Home Key Harbor adventure, a I–IV–V–I progression sets the key and you name the note that follows as a scale degree in solfège (1 · Do, 5 · Sol and so on), which builds the sense of "home" that every key on the circle depends on. Progression Highway then trains the chords themselves: I–IV–V, the pop progression, ii–V–I and cadences, each played in a changing key. Both are part of Hearmony Pro and fit into the daily routine from the ear training for beginners plan. Hearmony is an iPhone app, available on the App Store.
For the history of the diagram and its link to tuning systems, see the reference entry on the circle of fifths.