5. 1 READ: Circle of 5th

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Circle of 5th

 

figure 5. 1. a

 

The major key for each key signature is shown as a capital letter; the minor key as a small letter. 

Each major key has a relative minor key, which means they have the same key signatures (numbers of sharps and flats), for example and relative minor of C major is A minor because they both have the same key signature (no sharps and no flats). This puts them in the same "slice" of the circle. 

The circle of fifths gets its name from the fact that as you go from one section of the circle to the next, you are going up or down by an interval of a perfect 5th. If you go up a perfect fifth (clockwise in the circle), you get the key that has one more sharp or one less flat; if you go down a perfect fifth (counterclockwise), you get the key that has one more flat or one less sharp.