Circle of Fifths - Interactive Chart with Key Signatures
An interactive circle of fifths: click any major or minor key to see its key signature, relative key, diatonic chords, and closely related keys — and hear the tonic chord.
The outer ring holds the 12 major keys, arranged clockwise in perfect fifths with C at 12 o'clock; the inner ring holds each key's relative minor. Click any segment to open its details: how many sharps or flats it carries and which notes they are, its relative major or minor, all seven diatonic chords with roman numerals, and the keys closest to it for smooth modulation.
Circle of Fifths - Interactive Chart with Key Signatures
An interactive circle of fifths: click any major or minor key to see its key signature, relative key, diatonic chords, and closely related keys — and hear the tonic chord.
C major
- Key signature
- no sharps or flats
- Relative minor
- A minor
- Diatonic chords
- ICiiDmiiiEmIVFVGviAmvii°B°
- Closely related keys
- A minor, G major, F major, E minor, D minor
Neighboring keys on the wheel differ by exactly one accidental, which is why they sound closely related and are the easiest targets for modulation. The tonic-chord button plays a simple triad so you can hear the key center you selected.
How the circle of fifths works
The circle of fifths is music theory's most useful map. Start on C and move clockwise by a perfect fifth — seven semitones — and you land on G; another fifth reaches D, then A, E, B, and so on. After twelve steps you arrive back at C, which is why the keys close into a circle. The magic is what the geometry encodes: each clockwise step adds exactly one sharp to the key signature, and each counterclockwise step (a perfect fourth) adds one flat. C major at 12 o'clock has no sharps or flats; G major has one sharp; D major has two; going the other way, F major has one flat and B flat major has two. At the bottom of the circle the two directions meet in enharmonic territory, where F sharp major (6 sharps) and G flat major (6 flats) are the same keys on a piano spelled two different ways.
The new accidentals also arrive in a fixed order that the circle itself generates: sharps appear as F, C, G, D, A, E, B — fifths again — and flats appear in the exact mirror order B, E, A, D, G, C, F. Memorize one order and you know both. That is why a key signature with three sharps must be F sharp, C sharp, and G sharp, and never any other combination.
The inner ring shows each major key's relative minor: the minor key that shares its entire key signature, found on the sixth degree of the major scale. A minor sits inside C major, F sharp minor inside A major. Relative pairs use the same seven notes, so melodies can drift between them without a single accidental — the engine behind countless verse-chorus contrasts.
The circle is also a practical songwriting and analysis tool. Keys adjacent on the wheel differ by one accidental and share six of their seven notes, so they are the smoothest modulation targets; a key's closely related family is its two neighbors plus the three relative minors involved. Harmonic motion by descending fifths — counterclockwise on the wheel — is the strongest pull in tonal music: the ii-V-I progression that powers jazz, the V-I cadence that ends nearly everything, and extended chains like Autumn Leaves or Fly Me to the Moon simply walk the circle. When you select a key here, the detail panel spells out its seven diatonic chords with roman numerals, so you can transpose any progression instantly: find the numerals in one key, read the chord names in another, and the circle has done the work a capo or a transposing chart would.
Key signatures for all 15 notated keys
Standard notation allows up to seven sharps or seven flats, giving 15 written major keys (the wheel merges the enharmonic overlaps at the bottom). Accidentals always appear in the fixed order shown here.
| Major key | Signature | Accidentals in order | Relative minor |
|---|---|---|---|
| C major | 0 | — | A minor |
| G major | 1♯ | F♯ | E minor |
| D major | 2♯ | F♯ C♯ | B minor |
| A major | 3♯ | F♯ C♯ G♯ | F♯ minor |
| E major | 4♯ | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ | C♯ minor |
| B major | 5♯ | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ | G♯ minor |
| F♯ major | 6♯ | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ | D♯ minor |
| C♯ major | 7♯ | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯ | A♯ minor |
| F major | 1♭ | B♭ | D minor |
| B♭ major | 2♭ | B♭ E♭ | G minor |
| E♭ major | 3♭ | B♭ E♭ A♭ | C minor |
| A♭ major | 4♭ | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ | F minor |
| D♭ major | 5♭ | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ | B♭ minor |
| G♭ major | 6♭ | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ | E♭ minor |
| C♭ major | 7♭ | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭ | A♭ minor |
Common progressions explained with the circle
The strongest chord motion in tonal music moves counterclockwise around the wheel — by descending fifths. These staple progressions all read directly off the circle; the chord names shown are in C major.
ii–V–I Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7
The backbone of jazz harmony: two consecutive counterclockwise steps on the circle land on the tonic. Because each root falls a fifth, every chord pulls hard into the next — find the ii and V one and two steps clockwise from any tonic.
I–IV–V C – F – G
The three-chord engine of blues, folk, and early rock. IV and V are the tonic's immediate neighbors on the wheel — one step counterclockwise and one step clockwise — which is exactly why these three chords harmonize the entire major scale.
I–V–vi–IV C – G – Am – F
The modern pop loop heard in hundreds of hits. It mixes the tonic's clockwise neighbor (V), its relative minor from the inner ring (vi), and its counterclockwise neighbor (IV) — the four most closely related chords a key has.
vi–ii–V–I Am – Dm – G – C
A full circle-of-fifths chain: every root falls a perfect fifth, tracing four consecutive counterclockwise steps. Extend the chain further and you get the endless cycling sequences of Autumn Leaves and Fly Me to the Moon.
Reading the wheel: worked examples
Click a key and here is what the detail panel tells you, with typical uses.
| Selection | What the panel shows | How you would use it |
|---|---|---|
| C major (default) | No sharps or flats; relative minor A minor; chords C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B diminished | The reference key — all white piano keys. Progressions written in roman numerals are easiest to learn here first. |
| A major | 3 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯); relative minor F♯ minor; V chord is E | A guitar-friendly key: check the panel to know which notes to raise when reading or transcribing. |
| E♭ major | 3 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭); relative minor C minor; ii–V–I is Fm7 – B♭7 – E♭maj7 | A staple horn key in jazz and soul — read the ii–V–I straight off the diatonic chord row. |
| F♯ minor (inner ring) | Same 3-sharp signature as A major; chords F♯m, G♯ diminished, A, Bm, C♯m, D, E | Relative keys share every note, so a song can move between A major and F♯ minor without any new accidentals. |
How to use the interactive circle
- Click any segment — outer ring for major keys, inner ring for relative minors. The selected key is highlighted and C major is shown by default.
- Read the detail panel: the key signature with the exact accidentals in order, the relative major or minor, and all seven diatonic chords labeled with roman numerals.
- Use the closely related keys list when you want a smooth modulation — these keys differ from the current one by at most one accidental.
- Press Play tonic chord to hear the key center as a triad and anchor your ear before writing or practicing.
- To transpose a progression, note its roman numerals in the current key, click the target key, and read the new chord names from the same numerals.
Circle of fifths FAQ
What is the circle of fifths?
An arrangement of the 12 keys in which each clockwise step is a perfect fifth (seven semitones) higher. Twelve fifths return to the starting note, closing the circle. Its power is that key signatures fall out of the geometry: every clockwise step adds one sharp and every counterclockwise step adds one flat, and neighboring keys share six of their seven notes.
How do I read key signatures from the circle?
Count the steps from C. Two steps clockwise is D major, so it has two sharps; three steps counterclockwise is E flat major, so it has three flats. The accidentals themselves also follow the circle: sharps arrive in the order F, C, G, D, A, E, B and flats in the mirror order B, E, A, D, G, C, F, so a count alone tells you exactly which notes are altered.
What is a relative minor?
The minor key that shares a major key's entire key signature, built on the sixth degree of the major scale. It sits directly inside its major key on the wheel: A minor inside C major, F sharp minor inside A major, C minor inside E flat major. Relative pairs use identical notes, which makes moving between them the most seamless key change in music.
Why does the wheel show F sharp major but the table lists 15 keys?
Written notation allows up to seven sharps or seven flats, producing 15 notated major keys. But a piano only has 12 pitches, so three pairs overlap enharmonically: B equals C flat, F sharp equals G flat, and C sharp equals D flat. The wheel shows one practical spelling per position (F sharp for six accidentals, D flat rather than C sharp for five), while the table lists every written option.
What are closely related keys and why do they matter?
Keys whose signatures differ by at most one accidental: the two neighbors on the wheel plus the relative minors of all three. They share almost all their notes and most of their chords, so modulations between them sound natural and are the standard first choices in classical form and songwriting alike. The detail panel lists all five for whatever key you select.
How does the circle explain the ii-V-I progression?
Root motion by descending fifth is the strongest resolution in tonal harmony, and one counterclockwise step on the wheel is exactly a descending fifth. In a ii-V-I, the roots D to G to C (in C major) make two consecutive counterclockwise steps, so each chord pulls into the next and the line lands on the tonic. Longer counterclockwise chains produce the cycling sequences common in jazz standards.