Guitar tools
Circle of Fifths
Circle of Fifths is an easy tool to visualize all keys. Starting at C, G is the fifth note in the scale; and so on. It's also called circle of fourths as you get perfect fourths if you look at it anticlockwise. See if you know the chords in common keys!
Relative minor: A minor
Diatonic chords in C major
Trivia and how to use the circle of fifths
This circle was developed in the late 1600s to explain Baroque music and you can find chords related to this circle in works of artists like Bach and Schumann. It's something every Jazz musician uses, and Fly me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra is probably the most popular example. Pick a key, and try playing it clockwise, hear how the form changes.
I use this when I need to figure out what key a song is in. If a song uses C, F, and G chords, it's almost certainly in C major. If it uses G, C, and D, it's in G major.
Understanding relative minors
Every major key has a relative minor that uses the exact same notes. C major and A minor share the same notes (no sharps or flats). The relative minor is always the 6th degree of the major scale (vi).
Key signatures and the circle
Moving clockwise adds sharps: C (0), G (1#), D (2#), A (3#), E (4#), B (5#), F# (6#). Moving counterclockwise adds flats: C (0), F (1b), Bb (2b), Eb (3b), Ab (4b), Db (5b), Gb (6b). The circle also helps you memorize which keys have which accidentals.
Related tools
See how each chord looks on the fretboard with the chord finder.
Questions about the circle of fifths
- What is the circle of fifths?
- The circle of fifths is an arrangement of all 12 musical keys based on their relationship. Moving clockwise, each key is a perfect fifth above the previous one (C → G → D → A → E → B → F#). Moving counterclockwise, each key is a perfect fourth above (C → F → Bb → Eb → Ab → Db → Gb).
- What is a relative minor?
- A relative minor is the minor key that shares the same key signature as a major key. C major and A minor both have no sharps or flats. G major and E minor both have one sharp (F#). The relative minor is always the 6th note of the major scale. Songs often move between a major key and its relative minor for contrast.
- How do I find the key of a song?
- Look at the chords used. If a song uses C, F, and G, it's in C major. If it uses G, C, and D, it's in G major. Songs rarely use chords from keys that are far apart on the circle.
- Why is it called the circle of fifths?
- Because each step clockwise is a perfect fifth interval. From C, a fifth up is G. From G, a fifth up is D. From D, a fifth up is A. Keep going and you eventually return to C - completing the circle. The interval of a fifth is the strongest harmonic relationship after the octave.