Circle of Fifths Chart — Free Printable PDF
All 12 major keys with their relative minors, how many sharps or flats each one carries, and the order those accidentals appear in. Hit Print or Download PDF for the whole chart on one page — no signup. Pin it above the piano or inside a lesson folder.
Prints on one US Letter page. Set margins to "None" for the sharpest result.
Circle of Fifths
Major keys, relative minors, and every key signature
Key Signatures
Sharp keys — clockwise
| Maj | min | # | In order |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | A m | 0 | — |
| G | E m | 1 | F♯ |
| D | B m | 2 | F♯ C♯ |
| A | F♯m | 3 | F♯ C♯ G♯ |
| E | C♯m | 4 | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ |
| B | G♯m | 5 | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ |
| F♯ | D♯m | 6 | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ |
| C♯ | A♯m | 7 | F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯ |
Flat keys — counter-clockwise
| Maj | min | # | In order |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | D m | 1 | B♭ |
| B♭ | G m | 2 | B♭ E♭ |
| E♭ | C m | 3 | B♭ E♭ A♭ |
| A♭ | F m | 4 | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ |
| D♭ | B♭m | 5 | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ |
| G♭ | E♭m | 6 | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ |
| C♭ | A♭m | 7 | B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ F♭ |
How to Read It
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father
- Sharps: the key is a half step above the last sharp.
- Flats: the second-to-last flat names the key.
- One flat on its own = F major.
- Relative minor = 3 half steps down.
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How to Use the Circle of Fifths
1. Look up a key signature in one step
C major sits at the top with no sharps or flats. Every step clockwise adds one sharp — G, D, A, E, B — and every step counter-clockwise adds one flat — F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭. The outer ring already shows the count, so "how many sharps in E major?" is a glance, not a calculation: four.
2. Find the relative minor
Each major key shares its key signature with a minor key three half steps below it, and that minor sits directly inside on the chart. C major and A minor both have no accidentals; G major and E minor both have one sharp. If a piece has two sharps, it is in D major or B minor — the ending chord usually tells you which.
3. Build a chord progression
Take any key and its two neighbours: those are the three major chords in that key — IV, I and V. The relative minors directly inside them are ii, vi and iii. In C major that gives F, C, G plus Dm, Am and Em, which is enough for most pop, folk and worship songs. I–V–vi–IV, the four-chord progression behind hundreds of hits, is four adjacent wedges.
4. Change key without a jolt
Keys next to each other on the circle differ by a single accidental, so they share six of their seven notes. That is why a modulation from C to G feels smooth while C to F♯ — six wedges away, six notes different — feels like a hard cut. When you need a key change, step one or two positions.
Printable PDF
The chart above is the whole thing — one US Letter page, black-and-white friendly, with the diagram, both key signature tables and the reading rules. Print as many copies as you need for a classroom or studio. No signup, no watermark.
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FAQ
What is the circle of fifths?
It is a diagram of all 12 major keys arranged so each step clockwise is a perfect fifth higher. C is at the top with no sharps or flats; every step clockwise adds one sharp (G, D, A, E, B) and every step counter-clockwise adds one flat (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭). Inside each major key sits its relative minor, which uses the very same key signature.
How do I read a key signature off the circle?
Count the steps from C. Two steps clockwise is D, so D major has two sharps — and the outer ring tells you that without counting. To go the other way, from a written key signature: the last sharp is one half step below the key name (three sharps ending in G♯ means A major), and with two or more flats the second-to-last flat names the key (B♭ E♭ A♭ means E♭ major). One flat alone is F major.
What is a relative minor?
A minor key that shares a key signature with a major key. It starts on the sixth degree of the major scale — three half steps below the major root. A minor is relative to C major, E minor to G major, D minor to F major. On this chart the relative minor is always directly inside its major.
How does the circle of fifths help me write chord progressions?
Any key plus its two neighbours on the circle gives you the three major chords in that key: for C, they are F (IV), C (I) and G (V). The three minor chords directly inside those wedges are ii, vi and iii — Dm, Am and Em. Nearly every pop, folk and blues progression is built from those six chords.
Why do three keys have two names?
At the bottom of the circle the sharp side and the flat side meet, and the same pitch can be spelled either way: B is also C♭, F♯ is also G♭, and D♭ is also C♯. They sound identical — musicians pick whichever spelling needs fewer accidentals or fits the instrument better, which is why F♯ (6 sharps) is far more common than C♭ (7 flats).
Is this circle of fifths chart free to print?
Yes. Click Print or Download PDF for the whole chart on one US Letter page — no signup, no watermark, and no limit on copies for your classroom or music studio.