Circle of Fifths Worksheet
A practice worksheet — blank the wheel, quiz yourself, then reveal & hear each key
How to play
- The wheel starts blank (every slot shows “?”). Say the key out loud, then tap the slot to check yourself — it reveals the key, its signature and chords, and plays it.
- The outer ring is the major keys; the inner ring is the relative minor lined up with each major (they share a key signature).
- Going clockwise adds one sharp each step (C→G→D…); going anticlockwise adds one flat (C→F→B♭…).
- Keys next to each other on the wheel sound closely related — that’s why so many songs move between them. Vol sets volume.
- Quiz me names a key and asks you to click the right slot — it keeps score so you can test yourself. Reveal all fills in every key; Blank all hides them again. Keyboard: Tab + Enter/Space.
It’s an interactive widget called the Circle of Fifths that’s a musician’s study aid. It allows you to play with key relationship, or even quiz yourself on them. The interface support both keyboard navigation and mouse clicks making it easy for everyone to use.
There are two rings. There are two ring on this wheel. One contains the 12 major keys while the other contain their corresponding relative minors. By default, each of these slot has a question mark in it. That’s because we want you to remember actively. Clicking Reveal All will reveal all of the key names. Clicking Blank All will hide them.
How to Use the Circle of Fifths Widget
The wheel itself is easy to use. Every sector on it relate to a particular key signature. As you turn the wheel anti-clockwise (or not), you add flats or sharps respectiveley. Once you’ve chosen your key, the central screen will change to show both name of the key and its signature. Below are names of the seven diatonic chords. Tap on a chord button and listen to how each one sound.
A Memory Test: The Quiz Me button launch a memory test. It will ask you to identify a major or minor key. Then you have to locate it on the wheel. You see your score in the quiz bar. If you get it right, not only do they plays the chord progression for you but show you the key. If you don’t then the mistake is highlighted in red, and you can try again.
At the top right, there’s volume control. If you want to practice quietly, you can use slider to change your audio level. It is also good for when you are looking at visual patterns. In the header, there’s fullscreen mode. It clears away distracting page elements and centres the widget. It is handy for small screen. The wheel stays visible with full screen mode. So does the chord list.
You can control the widget using keys on your computer keyboard. To navigate, press Tab to cycle between the wheel segment and other items including buttons. When an item is highlight, you can click it by pressing Enter or Space. This makes it easy to navigate without a trackpad or mouse.
Begin with some practice at blanking out the wheel. Where are the keys in relation to C major? Listen to diatonic chords of each key. You can click on a key and see if you got it right. Each key has the same signature (its relative minor). Quiz yourself and get quicker then more accurate.
The connections between keys is worth exploring too. The visual information is backed up by audio feedback. If you are studying for a test, this could of been helpful. If you’re practicing before a lesson, it will help too. There’s no delay in hearing it back and immediately knowing what works and what doesn’t. You’ll find out just how fast you can learn the circle through using the widget.