The circle of fifths explained for kids and parents

The circle of fifths is a chart of the 12 musical keys, set out like the numbers on a clock. C major sits at the top, with no sharps and no flats. Each step to the right adds one sharp. Each step to the left adds one flat. Music students use it to learn key signatures and to see which keys and chords are close neighbors.

Why it is called that

A fifth is the distance of five note names. From C, count up five: C, D, E, F, G. So G is a fifth above C.

Start on C and keep going up by fifths: C, G, D, A, E, B, and so on. After 12 steps, you are back at C. That is why the chart is a circle.

The 12 keys, clock position by clock position

Clock position	Major key	Sharps or flats	Which ones	Relative minor
12	C	None		A minor
1	G	1 sharp	F	E minor
2	D	2 sharps	F, C	B minor
3	A	3 sharps	F, C, G	F-sharp minor
4	E	4 sharps	F, C, G, D	C-sharp minor
5	B	5 sharps	F, C, G, D, A	G-sharp minor
6	F-sharp, also called G-flat	6 sharps, or 6 flats		D-sharp minor, also called E-flat minor
7	D-flat	5 flats	B, E, A, D, G	B-flat minor
8	A-flat	4 flats	B, E, A, D	F minor
9	E-flat	3 flats	B, E, A	C minor
10	B-flat	2 flats	B, E	G minor
11	F	1 flat	B	D minor

How to read it

Go right from the top to add sharps. G has one sharp. D has two. A has three.

Go left from the top to add flats. F has one flat. B-flat has two. E-flat has three.

The bottom is where they meet. F-sharp major, with six sharps, and G-flat major, with six flats, are the same keys on the piano with two different names.

The order of the sharps and the flats

Sharps are always added in the same order: F, C, G, D, A, E, B.

Students learn a sentence for it: “Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle.”

Flats are added in the opposite order: B, E, A, D, G, C, F.

Read the same sentence backward: “Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’s Father.”

Look at the two lists again. Each one moves by fifths. The pattern of the circle shows up in more than one place.

The inner circle

Every major key has a partner called its relative minor. The two share a key signature. A minor has no sharps or flats, like C major. E minor has one sharp, like G major.

To find the relative minor, count down three half steps from the major key’s note. On most charts, the minor keys sit in a ring inside the major keys.

What a student uses it for

Key signatures. A student who sees three sharps at the start of a piece can look at the chart and find A major or F-sharp minor. Read key signatures explained.

Learning scales in order. Many teachers assign scales around the circle: C, then G, then D, adding one sharp at a time. Read major and minor scales explained for kids.

Finding the main chords. Pick any key on the circle. The key to its right and the key to its left give the two other chords used most in that key. In C major, the neighbors are G and F. Countless songs use those three chords alone.

Changing key. The easiest key change is to a neighbor on the circle, because the two keys differ by a single note.

When do children learn it?

A piano student meets the first few keys in the first two or three years: C, G, and F, and then D and B-flat. The full circle comes with the middle levels of theory study. Exam systems expect all the major and minor keys by about the level of ABRSM Grade 5 theory. Read ABRSM Grade 5 theory.

A beginner does not need it. It is a map for later.

How to draw one

1. Draw a circle and mark 12 points on it, like a clock.
2. Write C at the top.
3. Going to the right, write G, D, A, E, B, and F-sharp.
4. Going to the left from C, write F, B-flat, E-flat, A-flat, and D-flat.
5. Beside each key, write the number of sharps or flats. It matches the clock number on the right side. On the left side, count the hours back from 12.

Things to do together

Count the fifths. On a piano, start on any C. Count up five white keys to G. From G, count up five to D. Keep going. After B, the next stop is F-sharp, a black key.

Quiz by clock. Say “three o’clock.” Your child names the key and the number of sharps.

Sing the sentence. Say the sentence for the sharps forward and then backward.

Find the key. Look at the start of this week’s piece. Count the sharps or flats, and find the key on the chart.

Three chords. On a piano or a ukulele, play the chords C, F, and G. Make up a song with them.

Print and play

Print the piano keyboard chart to count the fifths. For the three signs, read sharps, flats, and naturals explained for kids. For the distance between notes, read intervals explained for kids.

For more on theory, see music theory for parents.