Circle of Fifths – Interactive Chart and How to Use It

C major

Key signature: no sharps or flats

Relative minor: A minor (the small name inside each circle)

Neighbours: G one step clockwise (a 5th up, one more sharp or one less flat), F one step anticlockwise (a 4th up, one more flat or one less sharp)

Main chords: C (I), F (IV), G (V) and Am (vi): the key itself and its two neighbours, plus the relative minor.

All chords in C major

How the circle is built

Start at C at the top. Go up a perfect 5th (7 semitones) to G, then to D, A, E, B and F♯. Each new key adds one sharp to the key signature. Going the other way from C (down a 5th, which is the same as up a 4th) gives F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ and G♭, each adding one flat. The two sides meet at the bottom, where F♯ and G♭ are the same sound.

Major keys around the circle, with their key signatures and relative minors
Key	Signature	Relative minor
C major	none	Am
G major	1 sharp: F♯	Em
D major	2 sharps: F♯ C♯	Bm
A major	3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯	F♯m
E major	4 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯	C♯m
B major	5 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯	G♯m
F♯ major	6 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯	D♯m
D♭ major	5 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭	B♭m
A♭ major	4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭	Fm
E♭ major	3 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭	Cm
B♭ major	2 flats: B♭ E♭	Gm
F major	1 flat: B♭	Dm

Using the circle to transpose

Neighbouring keys differ by one sharp or flat, so moving a song one step around the circle changes only one note of its scale. That makes the circle a quick map for transposing:

One step clockwise = up a 5th (7 semitones): a song in C moves to G, and its C – F – G become G – C – D.
One step anticlockwise = up a 4th (5 semitones): C moves to F, and C – F – G become F – B♭ – C.
Several steps work the same way: two steps clockwise is up a whole tone (C → D, after dropping an octave).

For any other move, count semitones instead, or let the chord transposer do it.

Finding I, IV and V

The three major chords of a key are the key itself and its two neighbours on the circle: for G, they are G (I), C (IV) and D (V). The minor chords ii, iii and vi are the relative minors of those three: Am, Bm and Em. This is why songs that use I, IV and V sound so natural: the chords are as close as keys can be.

Relative minor keys

Every major key shares its signature with a minor key three semitones lower: C major and A minor, G major and E minor. On the circle, the relative minor sits next to its major key (shown in small letters on the wheel above). Minor-key songs use the same chords in a different order of importance, with the minor chord as home.

Practise with it

Pick a key on the wheel and play its I, IV, V and vi chords, then do the same one step clockwise.
Look up the full set of chords for any key on the chords in a key pages.
Transpose a song by a 4th or a 5th in the chord transposer and watch the key wheel move one step.

Frequently asked questions

What is the circle of fifths?

A circle of the 12 major keys, each a perfect 5th above the one before: C, G, D, A, E, B, F♯, then D♭, A♭, E♭, B♭, F and back to C. Each relative minor sits next to its major key. Going clockwise adds one sharp (or removes one flat) to the key signature.

How do I use the circle of fifths to transpose?

Moving a song one step clockwise transposes it up a 5th (7 semitones); one step anticlockwise transposes it up a 4th (5 semitones). Because the chords of a key are next to each other on the circle, the whole group moves together.

How do I find the chords of a key on the circle?

The key's own chord and its two neighbours are the three major chords I, IV and V; the minor names inside those three are ii, iii and vi. For C: C, F, G and Dm, Em, Am.

How many sharps or flats does a key have?

Count steps from C: clockwise, each step is one more sharp (G has 1, D has 2…); anticlockwise, each step is one more flat (F has 1, B♭ has 2…). The table on this page lists them all.

Why are F♯ and G♭ both at the bottom?

They are the same sound with two names: F♯ major has 6 sharps and G♭ major has 6 flats. The circle closes there. D♭ (5 flats) is also C♯ (7 sharps), and B (5 sharps) is also C♭ (7 flats).