Harmony tool · No account needed
Explore the circle of fifths
Loading the circle of fifths
Choose any major or natural minor key to see its signature, relative and parallel relationships, and all seven diatonic triads. Switch clefs without changing the selected key.
What does the circle of fifths show?
The circle arranges keys by perfect fifth. Within the sharp and flat spans, neighbouring positions differ by one key-signature accidental. Major keys form the outer ring and their relative natural minor keys sit directly inside them.
What changes clockwise?
Starting from C major, each clockwise step moves up a perfect fifth and adds one sharp: G, D, A, E, B and F♯ major.
What changes counterclockwise?
Each counterclockwise step from C moves down a perfect fifth and adds one flat: F, B♭, E♭, A♭ and D♭ major. This compact 12-position view uses F♯ major at the six-sharp end; G♭ major is its enharmonic six-flat spelling, not a second selectable key here.
How do you read key signatures on the circle?
The accidental count belongs to the key, while the vertical placement of each sharp or flat depends on the clef. The circle keeps those two facts separate.
Why can the clef change?
Treble, bass, alto and tenor clefs place the same pitch classes on different staff lines and spaces. Changing clef redraws the signature without changing the key or its chords.
What does hiding signatures change?
It removes the staff notation from the dial only. Key order, selection, relationships and chord results stay unchanged.
What is the difference between relative and parallel keys?
Relative keys share one key signature but have different tonics. Parallel keys share one tonic but use different major and minor pitch collections.
How do you find a relative key?
Read directly between the outer and inner rings. C major and A minor are paired because both use the notes of the key signature with no sharps or flats.
How do you find a parallel key?
Keep the same tonic and change mode. C major and C minor are parallel even though C minor appears elsewhere on the inner ring and carries three flats.
Which chords belong to the selected key?
Selecting a key builds one root-position triad on each of its seven scale degrees. The table names the chord, its scale function and its Roman numeral without adding notes outside the selected major or natural minor scale.
What do the Roman numerals mean?
The numeral gives the chord root's scale degree. Uppercase indicates a major triad, lowercase a minor triad, and the degree sign marks a diminished triad.
Why does natural minor use a minor dominant?
This release derives only the unaltered natural minor scale, so its fifth-degree chord is minor and its seventh-degree chord is built on the subtonic. Harmonic and melodic minor are separate systems and are not implied here.
How can you use the circle in practice?
Use one question at a time: identify the signature, compare a related key, then read the chord set before applying it to a score or instrument.
- Select the key named in your score and confirm its sharp or flat count.
- Switch to the clef you are reading and locate each accidental on the staff.
- Compare the relative key for shared notes and the parallel key for a same-tonic colour change.
- Read the seven Roman numerals and chord names as a reference, then verify the actual harmony in the music.
Questions about the circle of fifths
Do relative major and minor keys use the same notes?
They use the same seven pitch classes and key signature, but they organize those notes around different tonics. C major and A natural minor are one example.
How are F♯ major and G♭ major related?
In equal temperament they sound at the same pitches, but they spell notes and signatures differently. This release places F♯ major on the dial and treats G♭ major as its enharmonic theory reference rather than a second selectable key.
Does moving one position always change one accidental?
It does within each continuous sharp or flat span. At the compact display seam, the dial moves from F♯ major with six sharps to D♭ major with five flats, so the signed count does not continue by one there.
Are these the only chords I can use in a key?
No. The table shows the seven unaltered diatonic triads. Music may also use inversions, seventh chords, borrowed chords, secondary dominants and chromatic notes.
Can I hear the displayed chords?
Not on this route yet. The chord rows remain visibly unavailable until ClefPulse can connect them to its quality-approved piano playback runtime.
Which sources support this guide?
The selectable keys and feature boundary come from the dated public audit. The explanations below use open music-theory references; ClefPulse independently validates the displayed key and chord data.
Published and reviewed by ToolForge.
Content reviewed on .
- Open University: The perfect fifth, the minor third and the circle of fifths
Reference for fifth-wise key order, accumulating sharps and flats, and the pairing of major keys with relative minors.
- musictheory.net: Key Signature Calculation
Reference for signed accidental counts and the distinction between major keys and their parallel minor keys.
- Open Music Theory: Roman Numerals
Reference for scale-degree numerals and the uppercase, lowercase and diminished-quality conventions used in the chord table.
Continue from harmony to pitch and pulse
Return to the first rhythm exercise, practise with a steady metronome, or connect note names to the repeating piano-key pattern.