Circle of fifths chart
C major and A minor share the top position with no sharps or flats. Move clockwise for fifths and sharps; move counterclockwise for fifths and flats. The chart pairs all 12 major keys with their relative minors.
The 12 positions of the circle
On a narrow screen, swipe the diagram sideways. The complete text table follows it. The diagram and table work without JavaScript.
The outer names are major keys, the inner names are their relative minors, and the middle labels count sharps or flats in the shared key signature. Each clockwise move is a perfect fifth up from one major tonic to the next: C → G → D → A. On the sharp side, each step adds the next sharp. Each counterclockwise move is a perfect fifth down: C → F → B♭ → E♭. On the flat side, each step adds the next flat. At the bottom, F♯ and G♭ sound alike in equal temperament but are written with different key signatures. This is a map of written keys, not an automatic verdict on a recording.
Major keys, relative minors and key signatures
A relative major and minor share a key signature, but they do not share a tonic. C major and A minor both show zero sharps or flats; the music must still establish whether C or A feels like home. Read the rows clockwise from the top of the diagram. The altered-note column spells out what the chart's small count labels mean.
On a narrow screen, swipe the table sideways to see all five columns.
| Step | Major key | Relative minor | Signature | Altered notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C major | A minor | 0 | No sharps or flats |
| 2 | G major | E minor | 1♯ | F♯ |
| 3 | D major | B minor | 2♯ | F♯, C♯ |
| 4 | A major | F♯ minor | 3♯ | F♯, C♯, G♯ |
| 5 | E major | C♯ minor | 4♯ | F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ |
| 6 | B major | G♯ minor | 5♯ | F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ |
| 7 | F♯ / G♭ major | D♯ / E♭ minor | 6♯ / 6♭ | F♯ spelling: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯; G♭ spelling: B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭ |
| 8 | D♭ major | B♭ minor | 5♭ | B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭ |
| 9 | A♭ major | F minor | 4♭ | B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ |
| 10 | E♭ major | C minor | 3♭ | B♭, E♭, A♭ |
| 11 | B♭ major | G minor | 2♭ | B♭, E♭ |
| 12 | F major | D minor | 1♭ | B♭ |
The sharp order is F, C, G, D, A, E, B; the flat order is B, E, A, D, G, C, F. The table stops at a six-accidental enharmonic pair because the chart shows twelve sounding positions. Written music can also use seven-accidental spellings, such as C♯ major or C♭ major, when its harmonic context calls for them.
Find candidate keys from a written signature
If a score begins with two sharps, read the sharp side of the table until you reach 2♯: F♯ and C♯. The major label is D major; the paired minor label is B minor. The signature narrows the written candidates to those two relatives, but it does not decide which tonic the piece emphasizes. Look at phrase endings, bass motion and cadences before naming a key. A local accidental inside one measure also does not automatically mean the whole score has changed key.
For a score with three flats, read the other side to 3♭: B♭, E♭ and A♭. The paired labels are E♭ major and C minor. If the piece is in C minor, a B natural may appear as the raised seventh in harmonic-minor passages even though the signature contains B♭. That note is a normal musical possibility, not evidence that the chart's relative-minor pairing is wrong. The printed signature and the music's actual note choices answer different questions.
For an unscored recording, there is no written signature to count. Transcribing a few notes may suggest a pitch collection, yet major and relative minor still share it. A short loop can also borrow notes or move between centers. Use the circle as a reference while listening or inspecting a piano roll, and leave the answer open when the audio does not establish a clear home note.
Worked MIDI case: move a short phrase from C major to G major
Original teaching example: an invented four-bar MIDI phrase. It is not a test of song-key detection, audio quality, or whether two songs will mix.
- Write the starting material. In a blank piano roll, enter a two-bar melody using C, D, E, F and G, then repeat it for two bars. Put a sustained C in the bass at the end of each repeat. This constructed example gives you a clear C-centered starting point; the five melody notes alone would not prove C major in a real recording. Listen to the phrase before moving any notes and note where it comes to rest.
- Read the chart before transposing. Find C at the top, then move one position clockwise to G. The signature changes from no accidentals to one sharp, F♯. G major's relative minor is E minor, shown on the same spoke. That pairing tells you which minor key shares the written signature; it does not mean that your newly moved phrase has become E minor.
- Transpose the MIDI, then check its spelling. Move every note of the phrase and its bass up seven semitones, a perfect fifth. C becomes G, D becomes A, E becomes B, F becomes C, and G becomes D. The source phrase used F natural, but after a literal fifth transposition that note is C natural. You do not need to insert F♯ into this particular phrase merely because G major has one sharp: a key signature tells you how an F would be written if one occurs. Inspect the actual notes rather than editing pitches by chart count alone.
- Test what the chart cannot decide. Play the moved phrase against a G bass, then against an E bass. Both G major and E minor use the same written pitch collection, yet the bass and melodic ending can change the perceived center. If the phrase never sounds resolved, add or alter a musical ending and listen again. Do not report an automatic key label as certain just because the notes fit a row of this table.
This example demonstrates a practical chart reading task: it predicts the destination's key-signature spelling and prompts you to check the musical center separately. It deliberately uses MIDI you can inspect. A mixed audio file brings extra uncertainty from chords, borrowed notes, tuning, percussion, and section changes. For a recording, use the song-key listening guide and treat any analyzer result as a candidate to verify.
What a circle chart does and does not tell you
- It names written key signatures. One major key and its relative minor occupy each position. A shared signature does not establish which note a melody treats as tonic.
- It maps a fifth relationship. Adjacent positions are useful when comparing key signatures or planning a modulation, but adjacency is not a guarantee that two recordings will blend. Arrangement, tempo, register and the actual transition still matter.
- It does not list every scale note or chord. For all seven pitches behind a Camelot code, use the Camelot scale reference. For chord evidence, use the key-from-chords tool and keep ambiguous matches visible.
- It is not the Camelot mix wheel. The Camelot wheel labels DJ library keys and neighboring codes. This chart shows conventional key signatures and relative minor pairings; the two diagrams serve different tasks.
Theory sources
Key-signature direction, accidental order and relative-key definitions were checked against Open Music Theory's major scales and key signatures chapter and its key signatures reference. The chart layout, table and MIDI walkthrough here are original to this page.