Skip to content

Interactive · Simulation

The circle of fifths for guitar.

Twelve keys arranged so that every neighbour shares six of its seven notes. Turn the dial, hear the chords, and see them on the neck.

Use the Key slider to turn the dial. In the chord grid, arrow keys move, Enter plays a chord, Shift and Enter makes it the key, digits 1 to 7 play the chords of the key, and Escape stops playback.

Selected chord · I

DmajorTonic

  • D1
  • F♯3
  • A5

Home — progressions come to rest here.

TonicPredominantDominant

Outer: major · Middle: relative minor · Inner: diminished (vii°)

Position 2 o'clock · 2 sharps

D major

2 sharps: F♯ C♯

Explore CAGED in D major

Major scale

Diatonic chords

××5R3DADF♯

Selected chord · I

D major

Tonic
Formula135
NotesDF♯A

Progressions in D major · 96 BPM

  • The pop axis

    Four chords that carry a huge share of modern pop. All four sit next to each other on the circle.

    1. DI
    2. AV
    3. Bmvi
    4. GIV

    Heard in: Let It Be, No Woman No Cry, With or Without You

  • Three-chord rock

    Tonic, subdominant, dominant: the key and its two neighbours on the outer ring.

    1. DI
    2. GIV
    3. AV
    4. GIV

    Heard in: La Bamba, Twist and Shout, Wild Thing

  • '50s doo-wop

    The vi chord softens the move from I to IV before the V pulls back home.

    1. DI
    2. Bmvi
    3. GIV
    4. AV

    Heard in: Stand by Me, Every Breath You Take

  • Jazz ii–V–I

    Each chord falls a fifth to the next — a walk anticlockwise around the circle.

    1. Em7ii7
    2. A7V7
    3. Dmaj7Imaj7

    Heard in: Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon

  • 12-bar blues

    Dominant 7th chords on I, IV and V across twelve bars. The foundation of blues and early rock 'n' roll.

    1. D7I7
    2. D7I7
    3. D7I7
    4. D7I7
    5. G7IV7
    6. G7IV7
    7. D7I7
    8. D7I7
    9. A7V7
    10. G7IV7
    11. D7I7
    12. A7V7

    Heard in: Johnny B. Goode, Pride and Joy, Hound Dog

Minor-key progressions live on the .

Fretboard · standard tuning

D inside D major

EADGBE0135791215DDDDDDDDF♯AF♯AF♯AF♯AAF♯AF♯AF♯AF♯EGBC♯EGBC♯EGBEGBC♯EGBC♯EGBC♯EGBC♯EGBC♯EG
  • Chord root
  • Chord tone
  • Key tonic
  • Scale tone

Tap any fret to hear it.

Harmonisation

Harmonising D major

Build a chord on every note of the scale by stacking thirds: take a note, skip one, take the next. The scale alone decides whether each third is major or minor, and so the quality of every chord.

Pick a degree

Stacking thirds on D

  1. DR
  2. E·
  3. F♯3
  4. G·
  5. A5
  6. B·
  7. C♯·

D I

major: major 3rd + minor 3rd

D · F♯ · A = 1 3 5

Tonic

Every major key repeats the same pattern: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished.

Modulation

Modulating from D major

Changing key mid-song. The closer two keys sit on the circle, the more notes and chords they share, and the smoother the move. A shared pivot chord belongs to both keys, so the ear only notices the change once the new key's V7 arrives.

Dominant · 1 step clockwise

D major → A major

Shared notes
6 of 7
What changes
G → G♯
Pivot chords
4
  • DI → IV
  • F♯miii → vi
  • AV → I
  • Bmvi → ii

Hear it

  1. DI in DHome
  2. Bmii in APivot
  3. E7V7 in ANew V7
  4. AI in AArrived

Go further

For teachers and bloggers

Embed this wheel

Put the playable on your own site or lesson page. Paste this code where you want it to appear; it is free to use.

<iframe src="https://guitstart.com/embed/circle-of-fifths" title="Interactive circle of fifths by GuitStart" width="100%" height="1080" loading="lazy" style="border:0;max-width:600px"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://guitstart.com/circle-of-fifths">Circle of fifths by GuitStart</a></p>