76 cards

Circle of Fifths Flash Cards

Read the key, say its sharps or flats, then turn the card to check.

Key signature of B major

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How to practise

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All 76 cards

Major key signatures 15

Key signature of A flat major Its 4 flats are B, E, A and D. Relative minor: F minor.
Key signature of A major Its 3 sharps are F, C and G. Relative minor: F sharp minor.
Key signature of B flat major Its 2 flats are B and E. Relative minor: G minor.
Key signature of B major Its 5 sharps are F, C, G, D and A. Relative minor: G sharp minor.
Key signature of C flat major Its 7 flats are B, E, A, D, G, C and F. Relative minor: A flat minor.
Key signature of C major It has no sharps or flats. Relative minor: A minor.
Key signature of C sharp major Its 7 sharps are F, C, G, D, A, E and B. Relative minor: A sharp minor.
Key signature of D flat major Its 5 flats are B, E, A, D and G. Relative minor: B flat minor.
Key signature of D major Its 2 sharps are F and C. Relative minor: B minor.
Key signature of E flat major Its 3 flats are B, E and A. Relative minor: C minor.
Key signature of E major Its 4 sharps are F, C, G and D. Relative minor: C sharp minor.
Key signature of F major Its 1 flat is B. Relative minor: D minor.
Key signature of F sharp major Its 6 sharps are F, C, G, D, A and E. Relative minor: D sharp minor.
Key signature of G flat major Its 6 flats are B, E, A, D, G and C. Relative minor: E flat minor.
Key signature of G major Its 1 sharp is F. Relative minor: E minor.

Show all 76 cards (61 more)

Minor key signatures 15

Key signature of A flat minor Its 7 flats are B, E, A, D, G, C and F. Relative major: C flat major.
Key signature of A minor It has no sharps or flats. Relative major: C major.
Key signature of A sharp minor Its 7 sharps are F, C, G, D, A, E and B. Relative major: C sharp major.
Key signature of B flat minor Its 5 flats are B, E, A, D and G. Relative major: D flat major.
Key signature of B minor Its 2 sharps are F and C. Relative major: D major.
Key signature of C minor Its 3 flats are B, E and A. Relative major: E flat major.
Key signature of C sharp minor Its 4 sharps are F, C, G and D. Relative major: E major.
Key signature of D minor Its 1 flat is B. Relative major: F major.
Key signature of D sharp minor Its 6 sharps are F, C, G, D, A and E. Relative major: F sharp major.
Key signature of E flat minor Its 6 flats are B, E, A, D, G and C. Relative major: G flat major.
Key signature of E minor Its 1 sharp is F. Relative major: G major.
Key signature of F minor Its 4 flats are B, E, A and D. Relative major: A flat major.
Key signature of F sharp minor Its 3 sharps are F, C and G. Relative major: A major.
Key signature of G minor Its 2 flats are B and E. Relative major: B flat major.
Key signature of G sharp minor Its 5 sharps are F, C, G, D and A. Relative major: B major.

Name the major key 15

Major key with 1 flat B is flat in F major. Relative minor: D minor.
Major key with 1 sharp F is sharp in G major. Relative minor: E minor.
Major key with 2 flats B and E are flat in B flat major. Relative minor: G minor.
Major key with 2 sharps F and C are sharp in D major. Relative minor: B minor.
Major key with 3 flats B, E and A are flat in E flat major. Relative minor: C minor.
Major key with 3 sharps F, C and G are sharp in A major. Relative minor: F sharp minor.
Major key with 4 flats B, E, A and D are flat in A flat major. Relative minor: F minor.
Major key with 4 sharps F, C, G and D are sharp in E major. Relative minor: C sharp minor.
Major key with 5 flats B, E, A, D and G are flat in D flat major. Relative minor: B flat minor.
Major key with 5 sharps F, C, G, D and A are sharp in B major. Relative minor: G sharp minor.
Major key with 6 flats B, E, A, D, G and C are flat in G flat major. Relative minor: E flat minor.
Major key with 6 sharps F, C, G, D, A and E are sharp in F sharp major. Relative minor: D sharp minor.
Major key with 7 flats B, E, A, D, G, C and F are flat in C flat major. Relative minor: A flat minor.
Major key with 7 sharps F, C, G, D, A, E and B are sharp in C sharp major. Relative minor: A sharp minor.
Major key, no sharps or flats No sharps or flats means C major. Relative minor: A minor.

Around the circle 17

A fifth above A One step clockwise on the circle. E major has 4 sharps.
A fifth above A flat One step clockwise on the circle. E flat major has 3 flats.
A fifth above B One step clockwise on the circle. F sharp major has 6 sharps.
A fifth above B flat One step clockwise on the circle. F major has 1 flat.
A fifth above C One step clockwise on the circle. G major has 1 sharp.
A fifth above C flat One step clockwise on the circle. G flat major has 6 flats.
A fifth above D One step clockwise on the circle. A major has 3 sharps.
A fifth above D flat One step clockwise on the circle. A flat major has 4 flats.
A fifth above E One step clockwise on the circle. B major has 5 sharps.
A fifth above E flat One step clockwise on the circle. B flat major has 2 flats.
A fifth above F One step clockwise on the circle. C major has no sharps or flats.
A fifth above F sharp One step clockwise on the circle. C sharp major has 7 sharps.
A fifth above G One step clockwise on the circle. D major has 2 sharps.
A fifth above G flat One step clockwise on the circle. D flat major has 5 flats.
Same pitches as B major Two names for the same pitches: C flat major has 7 flats, B major 5 sharps.
Same pitches as C sharp major Two names for the same pitches: D flat major has 5 flats, C sharp major 7 sharps.
Same pitches as F sharp major Two names for the same pitches: G flat major has 6 flats, F sharp major 6 sharps.

Order of sharps and flats 14

1st flat in a key signature The order of flats is B E A D G C F, so the 1st is B flat.
1st sharp in a key signature The order of sharps is F C G D A E B, so the 1st is F sharp.
2nd flat in a key signature The order of flats is B E A D G C F, so the 2nd is E flat.
2nd sharp in a key signature The order of sharps is F C G D A E B, so the 2nd is C sharp.
3rd flat in a key signature The order of flats is B E A D G C F, so the 3rd is A flat.
3rd sharp in a key signature The order of sharps is F C G D A E B, so the 3rd is G sharp.
4th flat in a key signature The order of flats is B E A D G C F, so the 4th is D flat.
4th sharp in a key signature The order of sharps is F C G D A E B, so the 4th is D sharp.
5th flat in a key signature The order of flats is B E A D G C F, so the 5th is G flat.
5th sharp in a key signature The order of sharps is F C G D A E B, so the 5th is A sharp.
6th flat in a key signature The order of flats is B E A D G C F, so the 6th is C flat.
6th sharp in a key signature The order of sharps is F C G D A E B, so the 6th is E sharp.
7th flat in a key signature The order of flats is B E A D G C F, so the 7th is F flat.
7th sharp in a key signature The order of sharps is F C G D A E B, so the 7th is B sharp.

How this list was compiled: Own work: 76 cards worked out from the whole and half steps of the major scale, then compared with two references on 2026-10-16. Every key signature, its sharps or flats and its relative minor were matched to the tables in the Wikipedia article Key signature (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signature; the circle itself is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths). The order of sharps and flats, the 15 major key signatures and the three enharmonic pairs were read in Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom by Robert Hutchinson, University of Puget Sound (https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/MajorKeySignatures.html and https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/MinorKeySignatures.html). Licence: own work

How it works

Circle of fifths flash cards for music theory class or home practice. The page opens on the 15 major key signatures: Key signature of A major turns over to 3 sharps, with its relative minor under it.

Read the full guide

Five sets, five ways round the circle

Major key signatures and Minor key signatures ask how many sharps or flats a key has, 15 cards each. Name the major key turns that round: 4 flats, which key? Around the circle steps up a fifth at a time, C to G to D, and pairs the three keys that have two names. Order of sharps and flats asks for the 3rd sharp or the 5th flat.

Typed answers and paper

When answers are typed, 3 sharps, 3# and three sharps all count, and so do E flat major and Eb. A set of 15 prints on two sheets of Letter or A4, twelve cards to a sheet, and all 76 on seven. The print button comes after the first card is turned.

In a sharp key, the major key is a half step above the last sharp.
In a flat key, the major key is the second-to-last flat. F major, with one flat, is the one to learn by heart.
Three keys have two names each: B and C flat, F sharp and G flat, C sharp and D flat.

Questions and answers

What is the circle of fifths?

A way of arranging the twelve pitches so that each step clockwise is a perfect fifth higher. Each step adds a sharp or takes away a flat, so the circle doubles as a chart of key signatures.

What is the order of sharps and flats?

Sharps enter a key signature in the order F C G D A E B. Flats enter in the reverse order, B E A D G C F.

How do you find the relative minor of a major key?

Count down three half steps from the major key note. The relative minor of G major is E minor, and the two share one key signature, a single sharp.

How many key signatures are there?

Fifteen for major keys: C major with no sharps or flats, seven with sharps and seven with flats. Each one is shared with a relative minor key.