Harmonic.Audio

Circle of fifths

Choose a key to find the chords that share its notes. The window shows six major and minor chords you can hear and play. Neighbouring keys share six of their seven notes.

From C, clockwise
Add sharps
From C, anticlockwise
Add flats
Inside ring
Relative minor
G1♯ · F♯C0G1♯D2♯A3♯E4♯B5♯F♯G♭6♯ 6♭D♭5♭A♭4♭E♭3♭B♭2♭F1♭AmEmBmF♯mC♯mG♯mD♯mB♭mFmCmGmDm
Read the wheel as

Tap any key on the wheel, or turn it one step at a time.

In the window

Chords in G major

Relative minor: E minor. 1 sharp: F♯.

Major

Minor

The one chord the window leaves out is F♯°, a diminished chord. It belongs to the key too.

Open the G major pageChord shapes up the neck, exercises and more.

How to read it

Follow the key signatures

  1. 1 From C, add sharps clockwise

    MAJORminorC0G1♯D2♯A3♯E4♯B5♯F♯G♭6♯ 6♭D♭5♭A♭4♭E♭3♭B♭2♭F1♭AmEmBmF♯mC♯mG♯mD♯mB♭mFmCmGmDm

    C has none. G has one (F♯), D has two, and so on round the right side. Each step is up a fifth, so G is the fifth note of C major.

  2. 2 From C, add flats anticlockwise

    MAJORminorC0G1♯D2♯A3♯E4♯B5♯F♯G♭6♯ 6♭D♭5♭A♭4♭E♭3♭B♭2♭F1♭AmEmBmF♯mC♯mG♯mD♯mB♭mFmCmGmDm

    F has one flat (B♭), B♭ has two, and so on round the left side. At the bottom the two sides meet: F♯ and G♭ sound the same.

  3. 3 Inside: the relative minor

    MAJORminorC0G1♯D2♯A3♯E4♯B5♯F♯G♭6♯ 6♭D♭5♭A♭4♭E♭3♭B♭2♭F1♭AmEmBmF♯mC♯mG♯mD♯mB♭mFmCmGmDm

    Each minor key sits under the major key with the same notes. C major and A minor share every note and the same signature.

Why “fifths”

Find a fifth in a power chord

A power chord pairs a root with its fifth. On the two lowest strings in standard tuning, the fifth is one string across and two frets higher. C to G is a fifth. Keep stepping up a fifth and you visit all twelve notes before you land on C again. That loop is the circle.

C to G: a fifth
  1. C
  2. G
  3. D
  4. A
  5. E
  6. B
  7. F♯
  8. C♯
  9. G♯
  10. D♯
  11. A♯
  12. F
  13. C

One step, one note

Neighbours share six notes

G major is C major with one change: F goes up to F♯. Play both scales and listen for that changed note.

C major
  1. C
  2. D
  3. E
  4. F
  5. G
  6. A
  7. B
G major
  1. C
  2. D
  3. E
  4. F♯
  5. G
  6. A
  7. B

For guitar players

Your strings are on the wheel

MAJORminorC0G1♯D2♯A3♯E4♯B5♯F♯G♭6♯ 6♭D♭5♭A♭4♭E♭3♭B♭2♭F1♭AmEmBmF♯mC♯mG♯mD♯mB♭mFmCmGmDm

Low E, A, D, G: four neighbours, read anticlockwise. Each string is tuned a fourth above the last, which is one step anticlockwise. B breaks the pattern: it is a third above G.

In standard tuning, every open-string note belongs to C, G and D major.

Change key

Move a song by turning the wheel

Chords keep their places in the window. Turn one step and every chord moves with it, so a song in G becomes a song in D.

  • In G
    1. G
    2. C
    3. D
    4. G
  • In D
    1. D
    2. G
    3. A
    4. D
  • In A
    1. A
    2. D
    3. E
    4. A

The I – IV – V – I progression in different keys. The chord pattern stays the same as you move around the wheel.

Key signatures

The sharps and flats come in circle order

Sharps are added in the order F C G D A E B, which is the wheel read clockwise from F. Flats come in the reverse order.

  1. F♯
  2. C♯
  3. G♯
  4. D♯
  5. A♯
  6. E♯
  7. B♯

Sharps: Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

  1. B♭
  2. E♭
  3. A♭
  4. D♭
  5. G♭
  6. C♭
  7. F♭

Flats: the same words backwards. Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles's Father

To find a major key from its signature, go up one semitone from the last sharp (F♯ C♯ → D major). With flats, the second-last flat names the major key (B♭ E♭ A♭ → E♭ major). One flat is F major.

All 24 keys

The wheel, unrolled

5♭D♭B♭m
4♭A♭Fm
3♭E♭Cm
2♭B♭Gm
1♭FDm
0CAm
1♯GEm
2♯DBm
3♯AF♯m
4♯EC♯m
5♯BG♯m
6♯F♯D♯m

Ordered by key signature, flats on the left and sharps on the right. Each column is a major key with its relative minor underneath.