The Circle of Fifths organizes all 12 chromatic pitches into a “clock-like” circle, and places the most closely related key signatures adjacent to one another. Each pitch represents the major scale where that pitch serves as the key’s tonic.
Sharp Keys
Starting at the 12 o’clock position (C), and moving clockwise, each “hour” is spaced a perfect 5th from the previous pitch.
C→G→D→A→E→B→F#→C# (After C#, keys use the simplified enharmonic pitch spelling)
When moving clockwise from C (no #’s or ♭’s), each key has 1 more # than the previous position. Each # key contains all the #’s from the previous key, plus 1 new one (the 7th degree of that key)
Flat Keys
The Circle of Fifths can also be referred to as the Circle of Fourths, as traveling counterclockwise results in Perfect 4ths between each “hour”. Remember that Perfect 4ths and Perfect 5ths are inversions of each other. (C→G = P5 and G→C = P4)
C→F→B♭→E♭→A♭→D♭→G♭-C♭ (After C♭, keys use the simplified enharmonic pitch spelling)
When moving counterclockwise from the 12 o’clock position, each key has 1 more ♭ that the previous position. Each ♭ key contains all the ♭’s from the previous key, plus 1 new one (the 4th degree of that key)
