Level 5 (like Grade 5) · Unit 20 of 24

All the keys

Every key signature, up to seven sharps or flats – and the circle of 5ths that links them.

By the end you will be able to:

• read and name every major and minor key signature
• write any major or minor scale
• use the circle of 5ths

Learn

The circle of 5ths

Each new sharp key starts a 5th higher than the last: C, G, D, A, E, B, F♯, C♯. Each new flat key starts a 5th lower: C, F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭. Drawn as a clock face, these keys make the circle of 5ths, and the keys next to each other share all but one note.

Same sound, different spelling

At the bottom of the circle, keys overlap: F♯ major (six sharps) sounds the same as G♭ major (six flats). These are enharmonic keys – the same sounds spelled differently. Scales with many sharps include notes like E♯ (which sounds as F) and B♯: each letter is still used once.

Minor keys everywhere

Every key signature also belongs to a minor key three semitones lower: six sharps is also D♯ minor; six flats, E♭ minor. In harmonic minor scales, raising the 7th can need a double sharp (𝄪), as in D♯ harmonic minor (C𝄪).

Your turn

Watch and listen, then practise with new questions every time – reading questions, and writing tasks you answer on the stave. Take the check when you are ready: 80% passes the unit.

Level 5 is like Grade 5 music theory. These are Classfern’s own levels, not an exam board’s. Questions are made and marked by rules in your browser.