Circle of fifths
Every key, its key signature, its relative minor and the chords that belong to it. Tap a key to explore.
C major
Relative minor: , same notes, different home.
No sharps or flats
In swaras: Bilawal thaat, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni
Sa is CReading the circle
Going clockwise, each key is a fifth higher than the one before and has one more sharp: C, G, D, A and so on. Going anticlockwise, each key is a fifth lower and has one more flat: F, B♭, E♭. At the bottom the two meet, where F♯ major and G♭ major are the same notes with different names.
The inner ring holds the relative minors. A minor shares every note with C major, so they share a key signature too; the minor key just treats A as home.
Finding the chords of a key
The selected key and its two neighbours are lit on both rings. Those six chords, three major and three minor, are the main chords of the key: in C major they are C, F and G with Am, Dm and Em. That is why so many songs move between neighbours on the circle. The seventh chord, the diminished one on the leading note, completes the set.
Want to know what a chord is called? Use the chord finder. To hear a key as swaras, set it as your Sa and open the harmonium.