The Circle of Fifths is a common music theory tool used to show the relationship of all the tones of the chromatic scale. The Circle of Fifths starts at the top with the Key of C. C is the natural scale meaning it has no sharp or flat notes in its scale. Moving clockwise the next Key is G which is the fifth of C (C D E F G). Each key after C adds a sharp as the Circle of Fifths continues. The key of G has one sharp note, the next fifth, D, has two sharp notes, and so on.
Reading the Circle of Fifths counterclockwise is for the keys that contain flat notes, the key of F having one flat note in its scale, Bb having two flat notes and so on.
Circle of Fifths at GuitaristSource.com
The Circle of Fifths is a common music theory tool used to show the relationship of all the tones of the chromatic scale. The Circle of Fifths starts at the top with the Key of C. C is the natural scale meaning it has no sharp or flat notes in its scale. Moving clockwise the next Key is G which is the fifth of C (C D E F G). Each key after C adds a sharp as the Circle of Fifths continues. The key of G has one sharp note, the next fifth, D, has two sharp notes, and so on.
Reading the Circle of Fifths counterclockwise is for the keys that contain flat notes, the key of F having one flat note in its scale, Bb having two flat notes and so on.