Learn Every Major Scale the Easy Way With the Circle of Fifths (Part 1)

To build the circle of fifths, start at C major, which has no sharps or flats. Move up a fifth clockwise for the sharp keys (G, D, A, E, B, F#, C#), adding one sharp each time. Move down a fifth anticlockwise for the flat keys (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb), adding one flat each time.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 9 min

Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

This lesson shows you how to write out the circle of fifths and use it to remember all the major scales and their key signatures. Jason Zac explains that the circle is useful for every musician: keyboardists, guitarists, singers and anyone who wants to learn or compose music. It is the first part of a series. Later parts apply the circle to intervals, chords and dominant resolution.

Start with C major

Put C major at the top of the circle. It is the scale with no sharps and no flats. From there:

• Moving clockwise gives you the scales with sharps.
• Moving anticlockwise gives you the scales with flats.

How to find a fifth

You can find the next key in two ways:

• Go up a perfect fifth from the current key.
• Simply count five letters through the musical alphabet. There are only seven letters: A B C D E F G. Counting C, D, E, F, G lands you on G.

The sharp side (clockwise)

Each new scale keeps every sharp of the previous scale and adds exactly one more:

1. G major: F#. This is the only difference from C major.
2. D major: F#, C#
3. A major: F#, C#, G#
4. E major: F#, C#, G#, D#
5. B major: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#
6. F# major: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#
7. C# major: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#

After B major you might expect F, but B major already contains F#. The next key is therefore F#, which is also the fifth note of the B major scale.

E# sounds the same as F, and B# sounds the same as C. They are written as E# and B# for theoretical reasons, because each letter must appear once in the scale.

The sharps follow a fifths pattern too. Each new sharp is five letters above the previous one: F#, then C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#.

You cannot go past C# major. The next key would be G# major, but a scale cannot have more than seven sharps, since music has only seven letters.

The flat side (anticlockwise)

Now move five letters down instead of up. Five letters below C is F.

F major is F G A Bb C D E. The fourth note is written Bb rather than A#, because the scale already has an A. So F major has one flat: Bb.

Here is a handy shortcut: the newest flat becomes the name of the next scale. Each scale keeps all the earlier flats and adds one:

1. F major: Bb
2. Bb major: Bb, Eb
3. Eb major: Bb, Eb, Ab
4. Ab major: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db
5. Db major: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb
6. Gb major: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb
7. Cb major: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb

Cb sounds the same as B, but it is still written as Cb in this key.

Enharmonic keys

There are only 12 different notes, but the circle gives you more key names than that, because some keys overlap:

• B major and Cb major sound the same. B is preferred because it is much easier to read.
• C# major and Db major are the same scale, written with sharps or with flats.
• F# major and Gb major are also the same scale.

How to practise

• Draw the circle yourself from memory.
• Write each key's sharps or flats beside it.
• Compare neighbouring keys. Notice that they differ by only one note, which makes them easier to compare and remember.

Questions about this lesson

Why is it called the circle of fifths?

Every new key on the circle is a fifth away from the previous one. The added sharps also move in fifths: F#, then C#, G#, D# and so on.

Why does F major use Bb instead of A#?

The F major scale already contains the letter A, and each letter should appear only once in a scale. So the fourth note is written as Bb.

Why can't you keep going past C# major?

The next key would be G# major. A scale cannot have more than seven sharps, because there are only seven letters in music.

Are C# major and Db major different scales?

No. They sound the same and are simply written with sharps or with flats. The same is true of F# and Gb, and of B and Cb, where B is usually preferred.

Practise it

• Circle of FifthsExplore the Circle of Fifths through keys, scales, chords and intervals.
• Note ForgePractise notes and intervals, use familiar musical references, and explore keys and chords.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• How to Use the Circle of Fifths for Pro Chord WritingTo write non-diatonic progressions with the circle of fifths, move between neighbouring major chords such as C, F, Bb and Eb, or C, G and D, because each neighbour shares a common note and the change sounds smooth even outside one key.
• Harmonic Ear Training: The Fastest Way to Hear Any ChordTo identify chords by ear quickly, ignore the melody and top notes, find and sing the lowest bass note of each chord, then use theory and your sense of major, minor, diminished or augmented quality to name the full chord.
• The Easy Method to Work Out Intervals on PianoTo work out intervals on piano, learn fifths and fourths from the Circle of Fifths and thirds from triads, then build the rest from them: a major seventh is the octave minus one semitone, a minor seventh is the octave minus two, a major sixth is the fifth plus two, a minor sixth is the fifth plus one, and the tritone is the fourth plus one or the fifth minus one.
• Scale vs Key vs Mode vs Raga: Finally ExplainedA key is the root note everything is heard against, a scale is the set of intervals chosen from that root, a key signature is how a major or relative minor scale is written in notation, a mode is the same set of notes heard with a new leader (relative) or borrowed on the same root (parallel), and a raga adds rules such as different ascending and descending notes and glides.