Selected Key
Key signature
No sharps or flats
relative minor
C major scale
Diatonic chords
Click for diagramThe IV and V chords sit on either side of C on the wheel — the neighbouring keys are the most closely related, sharing all but one note.
How to Use
- 1Click any wedge on the wheel. The outer ring holds the 12 major keys; the inner ring holds their relative minors.
- 2The panel shows the key signature (how many sharps or flats), the notes of the scale, and the relative key that shares those notes.
- 3Use the Major / Minor toggle to switch the panel between the major key and its relative minor — the seven diatonic chords update to match.
- 4Click any diatonic chord to open its finger-position diagram. The keys touching your selection on the wheel (the IV and V) are its closest neighbours.
About the Interactive Circle of Fifths
The circle of fifths arranges all 12 keys in a ring, each a perfect fifth apart. Moving clockwise adds a sharp; moving counter-clockwise adds a flat. It's the fastest way to see a key's signature, find its relative minor, and know which chords belong together. This interactive version lets you click any key to reveal its scale notes and diatonic chords — with a clickable diagram for each chord.
- 01All 12 major keys and their relative minors on one wheel
- 02Key signature (sharps or flats) for every key
- 03The seven notes of each major and natural minor scale
- 04Diatonic chords with Roman numerals (I ii iii IV V vi vii°)
- 05Clickable chord diagrams for every diatonic chord
- 06Neighbouring keys (IV and V) highlighted as you select
- 07Sharps / flats toggle to respell the enharmonic keys
- 08Key Finder — detect the key of a progression
- 09Chord Progression Generator — build in any key
Frequently Asked Questions
The circle of fifths is a diagram that arranges the 12 musical keys in a ring, each a perfect fifth apart (C, G, D, A, E, B, and so on). Going clockwise, each key adds one sharp to its key signature; going counter-clockwise, each adds one flat. It shows at a glance how keys relate, which chords belong to a key, and how to move smoothly between keys.
Start at C at the top (no sharps or flats). Each step clockwise moves up a fifth and adds a sharp; each step counter-clockwise moves down a fifth and adds a flat. The outer ring shows the major keys and the inner ring shows each key's relative minor — the major and minor directly across from each other share the same seven notes and the same key signature.
A relative minor is the minor key that shares the exact same notes and key signature as a major key. It starts on the sixth degree of the major scale — for example, A minor is the relative minor of C major, and E minor is the relative minor of G major. On this wheel, each major key sits directly outside its relative minor.
Chords that sit next to each other on the circle sound good together because they share the most notes. A key's I, IV, and V chords are the tonic plus its two neighbours on the wheel, and the relative minor (vi) is just inside. That's why so many songs are built from keys that are close together on the circle.
At the bottom of the circle the keys are enharmonic — the same pitches spelled two ways. F# major (6 sharps) and Gb major (6 flats) are the same key, and Db major (5 flats) can also be written as C# major (7 sharps). Which spelling you use depends on the music, but they sound identical. Use the ♯ Sharps / ♭ Flats toggle above the wheel to switch between them.
Yes. It helps guitarists find the chords in any key, transpose songs, pick capo positions, and understand why certain chord changes feel natural. Because guitar is a transposing-friendly instrument, knowing which keys are neighbours makes it much faster to jam, write, and play along in a new key.