Treble Clef

Circle of Keys
At some point in history*, musicians discovered that if you organize the 12 notes of the chromatic scale so that they
progress by the interval of perfect fourths or perfect fifths, some really cool patterns can be seen. These patterns
can help you to memorize the key signatures. The diagram below is sometimes called the "Circle of Fifths", or "Circle
of Fourths"....It's actually both! It just depends on which direction you go.

Each new key center is

the 5th scale degree of 5ths 4ths Each new key center is
the 4th scale degree of
the previous major scale the previous major scale

C
G 0 F
1 1

D 2 2 Bb

A 3 3 Eb

E 4 4 Ab
5 5

B
6
Db
Gb (C#)
(7)
(F#)
*Some attribute the original idea of the circle of keys to
Pythagoras (600 BC), however the first published Circle
of Fifths was by music theorist Nikolay Diletsky in 1679.
The Order of Sharps & Flats
Notice that the flats and sharps ALWAYS appear in the same order, left to right, in every key signature.
Do you see a pattern in the order of the flats and the order of the sharps?

FLATS: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb

SHARPS: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#

The Rule of Sevens

Pick out two key signatures that share the same letter name. (For example, E Major and E-Flat Major.) Do you notice
anything interesting when you compare the two key signatures? Count the number of sharps and flats. Compare the
notes that are sharp in one key with the notes that are flat in the other key. Try it again using a different pair of keys
that share the same letter name. Do you notice a pattern?

Dr. Selfridge Music

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