PlayPianoCircle of fifths
Tap a key and see what it needs.
The short answer
The circle of fifths puts the twelve major keys in a ring, each a fifth above the one before, with the relative minors inside. Tap a key to see its signature on the staff, its I, IV and V chords and its scale. E flat major, for example, has three flats: B flat, E flat and A flat.
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Every key signature
The twelve major keys, the sharps or flats each one needs, in the order they are added, and the relative minor that shares its signature.
| Major key | Signature | In order | Relative minor |
|---|---|---|---|
| C major | None | None | A minor |
| G major | 1 sharp | F sharp | E minor |
| D major | 2 sharps | F sharp, C sharp | B minor |
| A major | 3 sharps | F sharp, C sharp, G sharp | F♯ minor |
| E major | 4 sharps | F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp | C♯ minor |
| B major | 5 sharps | F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp, A sharp | G♯ minor |
| F♯ major / G♭ major | 6 sharps | F sharp, C sharp, G sharp, D sharp, A sharp, E sharp | E♭ minor (D♯ minor) |
| D♭ major | 5 flats | B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat | B♭ minor |
| A♭ major | 4 flats | B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat | F minor |
| E♭ major | 3 flats | B flat, E flat, A flat | C minor |
| B♭ major | 2 flats | B flat, E flat | G minor |
| F major | 1 flat | B flat | D minor |
The bottom of the circle is shared: F♯ / G♭ major sits there with its relative minor, D♯m / E♭m. Six sharps or six flats, the same keys on the piano. This site writes the keys as F sharp major and E flat minor.
Questions
How do I read the circle of fifths?
Start at C at the top, which has no sharps or flats. Each step clockwise goes up a fifth and adds one sharp. Each step anticlockwise adds one flat. At the bottom, F sharp major with six sharps and G flat major with six flats are the same keys on the piano.
What is a relative minor?
Every major key shares its key signature with a minor key that starts on the sixth note of its scale. C major and A minor have no sharps or flats, and E flat major and C minor both have three flats. The relative minors are the inner ring.
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