The Circle of Fifths

How to read the circle of fifths

Start at the top, on C major: no sharps or flats.

• Clockwise, each key is a 5th higher than the one before, and its key signature has one more sharp: G (1♯), D (2♯), A (3♯), E (4♯), B (5♯), F♯ (6♯).
• Counterclockwise, each key is a 5th lower, and has one more flat: F (1♭), B♭ (2♭), E♭ (3♭), A♭ (4♭), D♭ (5♭).
• At the bottom, the two directions meet. F♯ major (six sharps) and G♭ major (six flats) sound exactly the same: they’re the same keys on the piano, spelled two ways.
• The inner ring shows each key’s relative minor, which has the same key signature: A minor under C, E minor under G, D minor under F.

A 5th is five letter names counting both ends: C, D, E, F, G. On the piano it’s seven half steps. Go up a 5th from G and you reach D, then A, and so on round the circle, through all twelve keys, back to C.

Every key on the circle

Position	Major key	Key signature	Relative minor
12 o’clock	C	none	A minor
1 o’clock	G	1 sharp: F♯	E minor
2 o’clock	D	2 sharps: F♯ C♯	B minor
3 o’clock	A	3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯	F♯ minor
4 o’clock	E	4 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯	C♯ minor
5 o’clock	B (or C♭)	5 sharps (or 7 flats)	G♯ minor
6 o’clock	F♯ or G♭	6 sharps or 6 flats	D♯ or E♭ minor
7 o’clock	D♭ (or C♯)	5 flats (or 7 sharps)	B♭ minor
8 o’clock	A♭	4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭	F minor
9 o’clock	E♭	3 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭	C minor
10 o’clock	B♭	2 flats: B♭ E♭	G minor
11 o’clock	F	1 flat: B♭	D minor

The key signatures guide shows where each sharp and flat sits on the staff.

Why each step adds one sharp

Compare C major with G major, one step clockwise:

C major	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
G major	G	A	B	C	D	E	F♯	G

Only one note changes: F becomes F♯. That’s because a major scale always climbs in the same pattern of whole and half steps, and starting a 5th higher pushes the 7th note up a half step. Every step clockwise does the same thing once more: D major keeps G major’s F♯ and adds C♯, A major adds G♯, and so on.

The new sharp is always a 5th above the last one, so the sharps arrive in the order F C G D A E B. Going counterclockwise, the flats arrive in the opposite order, B E A D G C F. A common way to remember both: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle, and backwards, Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father.

How to use the circle of fifths

Find a key’s sharps or flats

Count the steps from C. A major is three steps clockwise, so it has three sharps; the first three in the order, F♯, C♯ and G♯.

Name a key from its key signature

Count the sharps or flats in the key signature and step that far round the circle. Four flats is four steps counterclockwise: A♭ major, or its relative minor, F minor.

Find the chords that go together

Take any key and look at its two neighbors. Around C sit F (counterclockwise) and G (clockwise). These are the key’s three main chords, I, IV and V, the primary chords that fit thousands of songs. The three minor keys inside them (Dm, Am and Em) are the key’s other three chords, ii, vi and iii. So a slice of the circle three keys wide holds six of the seven chords in a key.

See which keys are close

Neighbors on the circle share all but one note, so music moves between them smoothly. A piece in C major often visits G major or F major. Keys on opposite sides, such as C and F♯, share very few notes and sound far apart.

Practice all twelve keys

Musicians practice scales and chords “round the circle” so every key gets equal time. Starting on C and adding one sharp or flat at a time is also the easiest order to learn them in.

Learn it step by step

The circle of fifths is the last stop in Trebly’s Keys and scales lessons. Lesson 34 has you count round the circle, name key signatures and fill in the circle yourself, with each key played as you go. The lessons before it build what you need: half steps, the major scale, key signatures and the minor scale.