π‘ Interactive Circle of Fifths
Click any key to see its signature, relative minor, scale, and chords, with audio playback.
Selected key
Tip: audio plays through your device speakers. Click a wedge, then press a play button to hear the key.
How to Use This Tool
The interactive circle above puts all twelve major keys and their relative minors one click away. Select any wedge to see the key signature, the scale notes, the relative minor, and the seven diatonic chords with their Roman numerals. Press the play buttons to hear the major scale, the natural minor scale of the relative minor, or a I-IV-V-I progression, all synthesized live in your browser.
Click any wedge on the circle, or pick a key from the dropdown list. The selected key highlights and its details appear below.
Read the key signature (how many sharps or flats, and which notes they apply to), the relative minor, and the full scale spelled with correct accidentals.
Study the diatonic chords: the seven chords built from the scale, labeled I through vii with uppercase numerals for major chords and lowercase for minor.
Press Play Major Scale, Play Relative Minor, or Play I-IV-V-I to hear the key. Use what you hear to recognize keys by ear in songs you are learning.
How the Circle Works
Start at C major at the top with zero sharps or flats. Move one step clockwise to G major and you add F#. Move another step to D major and you add C#, keeping the F#. Each clockwise step stacks one more sharp, in the order F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#. Going counterclockwise from C to F adds Bb, then Eb at Bb major, and so on through the flat order Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb. The sharp and flat halves meet at the bottom with F# major and Gb major, which are enharmonic equivalents: the same sounding key spelled two ways.
The inner ring shows relative minors because they are the keys songwriters reach for when they want the same pitch collection with a darker home base. C major and A minor contain the same seven notes, but melodies and chord progressions that resolve to A sound unmistakably minor. The circle also reveals why certain chord changes feel so natural: chords whose roots are a fifth apart, like G to C or D to G, are neighbors moving counterclockwise, the strongest resolution in Western harmony.
Worked Example
Click the G wedge. The key signature reads "1 sharp: F#", the relative minor is E minor, and the scale is G, A, B, C, D, E, F#. The diatonic chords are I = G, ii = Am, iii = Bm, IV = C, V = D, vi = Em, and vii dim = F#dim. Notice that C and D sit on either side of G on the circle, which is exactly why the G-C-D progression (I-IV-V) is the backbone of thousands of country, rock, and pop songs.
Now click the wedge opposite, Db. The signature is five flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb), the relative minor is Bb minor, and the scale is Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C. Press Play I-IV-V-I to hear how the same progression shape sounds in a flat key. Brass and woodwind players live in these flat keys, while guitarists favor the sharp keys, which is one reason bands transpose songs to suit the instruments on stage.
Practical Tips
Use the circle to choose safe key changes for medleys and mashups: moving to a neighboring key keeps six of seven notes the same, so the transition sounds smooth. Jumping across the circle, from C to F#, changes nearly every note and sounds dramatic, which is perfect for a bridge that needs to lift. Songwriters also use it to find substitute chords: the vi chord (relative minor) can replace the I chord, and the iii chord can substitute for the V.
When you are learning a song by ear, find its key first with our Song Key Finder, then come back here to see every chord the song is likely to use. Practice playing the I-IV-V-I progression in every key around the circle, clockwise and back, and your hands will learn the geography of all twelve keys. The audio playback on this page uses the Web Audio API, so everything is synthesized locally with no downloads and no network requests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the circle of fifths?
The circle of fifths is a diagram that arranges the 12 major keys in order of ascending perfect fifths: C, G, D, A, E, B, F#, Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F, and back to C. Moving clockwise adds one sharp to the key signature, while moving counterclockwise adds one flat. It is one of the most useful visual tools in all of music theory.
How do I read the circle of fifths?
Each wedge on the circle is one major key, and the smaller label inside it is that key's relative minor. The number of sharps or flats grows as you move away from C at the top of the circle. Neighboring keys share six of their seven scale notes, which is why chord progressions and key changes usually move between adjacent keys.
What is a relative minor?
Every major key has a relative minor that shares the exact same key signature. You find it three semitones (a minor third) below the major tonic: A minor is the relative minor of C major, E minor is the relative minor of G major, and so on. Relative keys use all the same notes but center on a different home note, which gives them a completely different mood.
How does the circle of fifths help with chord progressions?
The most common progressions move in fifths or between neighboring keys on the circle. A I-IV-V progression in any key uses the key itself plus its two neighbors on the circle: in C major that is C, F, and G. Jazz ii-V-I turnarounds and countless pop progressions follow the same clockwise motion around the circle.
Can the circle of fifths help me transpose a song?
Yes. Find your song's current key on the circle, then move the same number of steps to reach the new key and shift every chord by the same distance. Moving one step clockwise, for example, transposes every chord up a perfect fifth. Pair this tool with our Nashville Number Chart Generator to convert progressions to numbers and transpose them automatically.
Why do some keys use sharps and others use flats?
It is a spelling convention that keeps key signatures readable. Sharp keys (G, D, A, E, B, F#) live on the clockwise half of the circle and flat keys (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db) on the counterclockwise half. At the bottom of the circle the two spellings meet: F# major and Gb major sound identical but are written with different accidentals.