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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

E♭mminorTonic

  • E♭1
  • G♭♭3
  • B♭5

Home — progressions come to rest here.

TonicPredominantDominant

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

Position 6 o'clock · 6 flats

E♭ minor

6 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭

Explore CAGED in E♭ minor

Natural minor scale

Diatonic chords

6fr×R5R♭35E♭B♭E♭G♭B♭

Selected chord · i

E♭m minor

Tonic
Formula1♭35
NotesE♭G♭B♭

Progressions in E♭ minor · 96 BPM

  • Minor pop

    The pop axis rotated to start on the relative minor — same four chords, darker centre.

    1. E♭mi
    2. C♭VI
    3. G♭III
    4. D♭VII

    Heard in: Zombie, Numb, Despacito

  • Andalusian cadence

    A stepwise walk down to a major V borrowed from harmonic minor. Flamenco's signature move.

    1. E♭mi
    2. D♭VII
    3. C♭VI
    4. B♭V

    Heard in: Hit the Road Jack, Runaway, Stray Cat Strut

  • Minor ii–V–i

    Half-diminished ii, dominant V7 and back to the minor tonic.

    1. Fm7♭5iiø7
    2. B♭7V7
    3. E♭m7i7

    Heard in: Blue Bossa, Autumn Leaves

Major-key progressions live on the .

Fretboard · standard tuning

E♭m inside E♭ minor

EADGBE0135791215E♭E♭E♭E♭E♭E♭E♭G♭B♭G♭B♭G♭B♭G♭B♭B♭G♭B♭G♭B♭G♭B♭G♭FA♭C♭D♭FC♭D♭FA♭C♭FA♭C♭D♭FA♭C♭D♭FA♭C♭D♭FA♭C♭D♭FA♭C♭D♭F
  • Chord root
  • Chord tone
  • Key tonic
  • Scale tone

Tap any fret to hear it.

Harmonisation

Harmonising E♭ minor

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 E♭

  1. E♭R
  2. F·
  3. G♭3
  4. A♭·
  5. B♭5
  6. C♭·
  7. D♭·

E♭m i

minor: minor 3rd + major 3rd

E♭ · G♭ · B♭ = 1 ♭3 5

Tonic

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

Harmonic minor

Borrowing a leading tone

In natural minor, v (B♭m) carries D♭, a whole step under E♭, so it barely pulls home. Raise the 7th to D and v becomes B♭: a true dominant whose D leans a half step into E♭.

  • Natural minor
  • Harmonic minor

Modulation

Modulating from E♭ minor

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

E♭ minor → B♭ minor

Shared notes
6 of 7
What changes
C♭ → C
Pivot chords
4
  • E♭mi → iv
  • G♭III → VI
  • B♭mv → i
  • D♭VII → III

Hear it

  1. E♭mi in E♭mHome
  2. G♭VI in B♭mPivot
  3. F7V7 in B♭mNew V7
  4. B♭mi in B♭mArrived

Go further

For teachers and bloggers

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<p><a href="https://guitstart.com/circle-of-fifths">Circle of fifths by GuitStart</a></p>