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 Major. C Major 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 (shown by the black #, or sharp symbols next to each key).
Reading the Circle of Fifths counterclockwise shows 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 (shown by the black b, or flat symbols next to each key).
The Circle of Fifths
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 Major. C Major 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 (shown by the black #, or sharp symbols next to each key).
Reading the Circle of Fifths counterclockwise shows 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 (shown by the black b, or flat symbols next to each key).