music 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
key signatures around the perimeter. we’ll return to this chart
as we continue learning about
how composers use keys.

C
F1b 0
1#
G
b #

B b 2b
as you move clockwise around the

D
circle, you add sharps to the key signature.

2#
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

Eb
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

3b 3# A
add accidentals to the key
signature appropriately.
beadgcf
#
for example, when adding sharps,
e flat major use the reverse
has three flats, of the order above.
so it should

Ab
look like this:

4b 4#
the keys down here line up
enharmonically... for example,
the key of d flat major will sound
E
just like the key of c sharp major.

7# 5#

C#
so could you

5b 7b
continue the

6#
enharmonic

Cb
B
Db
deal and have

F#
6b
the key of
f flat major?
notice how that
yes, if you want

Gb
beadgcf pattern
a double flat
pops up all over
in your
the circle of
key signature:
fifths?

weird!
nooooo!

licensed under a creative commons BY-NC-ND license - visit tobyrush.com for more