Circle of Fifths tones

The quint circle is a diagram that shows the relationships between the keys in music. It can help you to determine the accidentals, the scales and the chords of a key. Here are 10 points that explain the quint circle easily and understandably:

The quint circle consists of an outer circle for the major keys and an inner circle for the minor keys.

The parallel major and minor keys have the same accidentals and are aligned in the quint circle.

The C major key and the a minor key have no accidentals and are at the top of the quint circle.

If you move from C major clockwise to the right, you get the keys with sharp accidentals (#). The number of sharps increases by one when you move by one position in the quint circle.

If you move from C major counterclockwise to the left, you get the keys with flat accidentals (♭). The number of flats increases by one when you move by one position in the quint circle.

The keys in the quint circle are each a fifth apart. A fifth is the distance of five tones in a major or minor scale.

To remember the order of the keys with sharp accidentals, you can use the following mnemonic: Geh du alter Esel hole Fisch. The initial letters give the keys: G major, D major, A major, E major, B major, F sharp major.

To remember the order of the keys with flat accidentals, you can use the following mnemonic: Frische Brötchen essen Asse des Gesangs. The initial letters give the keys: F major, B flat major, E flat major, A flat major, D flat major, G flat major.

To find the root note of a major key with sharp accidentals, you can go up by a semitone from the last sharp accidental. For example, E is the last sharp accidental in A major. If you go up by a semitone from E, you get to A.

To find the root note of a major key with flat accidentals, you can take the penultimate flat accidental. For example, A flat is the penultimate flat accidental in E flat major. A flat is therefore the root note of E flat major.

I hope these points have helped you to understand the quint circle better.