Download circle of 5ths interactive for pc show sharps

But what is the note name that has the sharp accidental? Simply look back two hour positions counter-clockwise to get the name of the note that needs sharpening.

We are at 1 o'clock, so we need to look back two hours to 11 o'clock, which is note F ather. So we sharpen this note name, resulting in note F. The final calculation of the sharps in this scale is to take the key signature of the previous step, and add the sharp we have just calculated to the end of it.

This is easy to work out - the previous step was C major, which has no sharps, so this key signature consists of a single sharp - F , which is highlighted just below the diagram title below.

The treble clef from the G major key signature page matches - it has 1 sharp accidental symbol next to the treble clef symbol, on the top staff line - the note F staff position. The G major scale page shows this scale constructed long-hand, and shows 1 sharp - F-sharp. If there is one sharp F-sharp in this key signature, what are the other notes, and in what order do they appear? The Circle of fifths is conveniently structured such that is never a mixture of sharp and flat notes for any given key signature; in this case, the G major scale.

This fact is useful, as it means that since there cannot be flats, the other notes must be natural white note names ie. But the order of these is significant. Since this is the G major scale, we know the first note is G , and so the remaining note names ie. Since only the letters A to G are used to identify note names, after G, the note names wrap around back to A again.

So the remaining note names after G must be A , B , C , D , E , , followed by the single sharpened note - F , and then finally the first note name is repeated again - G which is same note name as the first note but one octave higher. The key signature of G major is now complete, so the next step is to move around the circle of 5ths diagram again by one position clockwise, to 2 o'clock, note D own. We are moving around the Circle of 5ths from word G oes to word D own, but again in musical terms, this means that note D must be the 5th note of this G major scale.

The piano diagram from the G major scale confirms this, and it also shows the single sharp note - F-sharp in this scale. Now we have moved to 2 o'clock, D own , tonic note of the D major scale. Just like the previous step, to get the note name that needs sharpening, just look two hours anti-clockwise. We are at 2 o'clock, so we need to look back two hours to 12 o'clock, which is note C harles. So we sharpen this note name, resulting in note C.

Again, the final calculation of the sharps in this scale takes the key signature of the previous step, and add the sharp we have just calculated. If you use Safari: Use the Save As If you use Firefox: As of this writing, Firefox doesn't yet support a "Web Archive" option like the other browsers, and its "Web Page, complete" option doesn't work with the Circle.

However, you can use IE or Safari to create the web archive, as described above. The Circle starts out with the key of C Major selected. To choose a different tonic, click an item in the Tonic table with your mouse. Likewise, to choose a different mode, click in the Mode table.

To save a lot of clicking, you can also rotate the Circle clockwise by dragging upwards in either table, and counter-clockwise by dragging downwards. The white rows in the Tonic table correspond to the fifteen classic Major key signatures that we learn about in music class, from C seven sharps through C seven flats.

The gray rows are more rarely used, and are included here for completeness. When's the last time you heard a tune in E Phrygian? This refers to the natural minor scale, which consists of the same notes as the Aeolian mode.

Unfortunately, in actual practice, music in the minor mode is rarely pure Aeolian. Instead, it typically uses a major V chord rather than the minor one called for by the Aeolian mode. It will also often include the ascending melodic minor scale. The details are beyond the scope of this Guide, but you should at least be aware of these complications so you're not surprised when you come across them in music. To make matters worse, you may encounter the term "minor" in a number of different contexts: Harmonic minor, ascending and descending melodic minor, relative minor, and parallel minor.

In this Guide, the term "minor mode" always refers to the natural minor in its pure Aeolian form, since this is the only one that fits entirely into the structure of the circle of fifths.

As you can see, the Circle is made up of three concentric rings. The large middle ring, the Note Ring , shows the names of all of the notes in the tone chromatic scale.

The seven notes in the key you have selected that is, diatonic to the key have a white background, and the other five notes have a gray background. The innermost ring, the Degree Ring , gives, in Roman numerals, the scale degrees of the seven notes highlighted in the Note Ring. The degree of a note is just its position in the scale, but this becomes very important when we work with chord progressions. You'll also see a black arrow pointing out the tonic of the selected key.

The outermost ring, the Chord Ring , shows you what type of three-note chord, or triad , is rooted at each of the seven notes in the selected key. Example 1: Start with the Circle in its starting position, with C Major selected.

That is, C Major has no sharps or flats in its key signature. The Degree Ring indicates the tonic C with a black arrow, and also shows, for instance, that G is the fifth, or dominant of this key more on degrees later.

Example 2: Now click G in the Tonic table, immediately above C. The circle rotates clockwise one position, and the Degree Ring now points to G as the tonic. Notice that F has dropped off one end of the Note Ring, and F has been highlighted at the other end.

This is an important lesson about the Circle: When you rotate it whether by Tonic or Mode , you are simply taking a note at one end of the Note Ring and sharpening it clockwise rotation or flattening it counterclockwise rotation. The other six notes remain the same. This means that the closer two keys are on the circle, the more notes they have in common. It also tells you, if you're searching for a key with more sharps, go clockwise; if you're looking for more flats, go counterclockwise.

Using the Tonic and Mode tables, remember that flat is down and sharp is up Notice that we've gone down one spot on the Tonic table and up one spot on the Mode table, and the Circle looks almost the same as it did in Example 2: The Note and Chord Rings are the same, but the Degree Ring has changed.

C is now the tonic, and the other degrees have changed accordingly. From this, we can gather that changing modes is very much like changing from one tonic to another, and in fact, if we offset a change in tonic with an opposite change in mode, the new key will have the same notes as the old key the keys are enharmonic. Analyzing a chord progression has two basic steps: Figuring out what key to use, and then figuring out the degrees of the chords. This does not mean that you should ignore that relationship when you do your own analysis.

The first step is figuring out the key. Select the Major mode and rotate the circle until you find a position where all of these notes are highlighted in white in the Note Ring and have the right type of chord major or minor in the Chord Ring.

You'll find that there's only one choice that fits: G Major. Note: It may seem as if we cheated a bit at the outset. Since any major key and its relative minor key use the same key signature they share the same sharps and flats , the circle of fifths is an easy way to see all of the key signatures laid out.

The top of the circle is C major which has no sharps or flats in its key signature. Going clockwise from C we add one more sharp than the previous key. Each key starting with C adds one more flat than the previous key going counter-clockwise. A fifth is defined as an interval which is the most consonant interval other than a perfect octave.

Thus, the circle of fifths is essentially a collection of pitches arranged in a circle in which each pitch is 7 semitones a perfect fifth away from each neighboring pitch. This rule applies for the outside circle the major keys and the inside circle the minor keys. The circle of fifths is designed as such to help musicians visualize these relationships.

Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Canton Center Rd. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer The circle of 5ths, sometimes referred to as the circle of 4ths and 5ths, is a chart that reveals many patterns of melody and harmony in music.