About the Circle of Fifths
The Circle of Fifths is a map of all 12 musical keys arranged so that each key shares six of its seven notes with its immediate neighbours. Moving clockwise adds a sharp to the key signature; moving anticlockwise adds a flat.
Click any key on the wheel to highlight it. The spokes show the diatonic chords — the seven chords that naturally belong to that key, labelled by Roman numeral (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°). The I chord is the home chord; the V chord creates tension that wants to resolve back to I; the IV chord gives a sense of lift or departure.
Use the Add to Progression button to send a selected chord directly to the Progression Builder. This makes it easy to build a chord progression that stays in key.
Tip: The I–V–vi–IV progression (C–G–Am–F in C major) is one of the most used progressions in pop music. Try it in the Progression Builder and experiment with different strum patterns.