The Circle Of Fifths
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1music theory for musicians and normal people by toby w. rush
The Circle of Fifths
theorists find it convenient to
organize all the possible key signatures
into a chart that shows their relationship
to one another.
this chart, called the circle of fifths,
displays each key as a spoke on the circle,
beginning with c major at the top and
adding accidentals, one at a time, to the
we’ll return to this chart
key signatures around the perimeter.
as we continue learning about
how composers use keys.
C
G
F
0
1 #
1 b
#
b
B b
as you move clockwise around the
D
circle, you add sharps to the key signature.
2 #
2 b
as you move counterclockwise around,
you add flats to the key signature.
to determine the key
signature for a key, look to
when adding flats to
E b
see which “spoke” of the circle
a key signature, add them
b
it’s on to determine how many
in this order:
flats or sharps it has, and
3 #
3 b
A
add accidentals to the key
beadgcf
signature appropriately.
#
for example,
when adding sharps,
e flat major
use the reverse
has three flats,
of the order above.
so it should
A b
look like this:
4 #
4 b
E
the keys down here line up
enharmonically ... for example,
the key of d flat major will sound
just like the key of c sharp major.
7 #
5 #
C #
so could you
5 b
7 b
continue the
6 #
enharmonic
C b
B
D b
deal and have
F #
6 b
the key of
f flat major?
notice how that
yes, if you want
G b
beadgcf pattern
a double flat
pops up all over
in your
the circle of
key signature:
fifths?
weird!
nooooo!
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