Circle of Fifths

Circle of V is a musical wheel that helps you discover chords, keys, and songs. Think of it like a colour wheel — except for music!

Click any name on the wheel to play that chord and light it up. The notes appear on the music staff on the right.
Press ✕ RESET to clear the selection and start fresh.
Spin the wheel by clicking and dragging it — it snaps to the nearest key.
Click the centre of the wheel to get a ready-made set of chords that sound great together.
The cards on the side show the notes on sheet music and how to play them on guitar, piano or ukulele!

🎵 Try this first: Click C at the top of the wheel. You'll hear a C major chord and see its notes on the staff!

🎹 Got a MIDI keyboard? Plug it in and allow browser access when prompted — the app will detect the chords and notes you play in real time and highlight them on the wheel!

Click / tap any segment to play the chord and set it as your key centre — the chord's notes appear on the staff and instrument diagrams update instantly.
Press ✕ RESET to clear the selection and return to the default state.
Shift+click any segment to add or remove it from the Chord List progression.
Long-press any segment to add or remove it from the Chord List progression.
Right-click a segment to add it to the Highlight Other Chords input and preview its notes on the staff.
Drag the circle to rotate it — it snaps to the nearest key.
Drag the cards in the right-hand panel to reorder them to your liking — hold and drag any card to a new position.
Click the centre of the circle to generate suggested chord progressions for your selected key.

A chord progression is a sequence of chords played one after another — like the backing chords to any song you know! Circle of V can build one for you in seconds.

1. Click a key on the wheel — try C (top), G (upper-right), or Am (inner ring).
2. Click the centre circle — a set of chords loads automatically.
3. Press ▶ Play to hear them loop. The glowing segment shows which chord is playing right now.
4. Adjust BPM (beats per minute) to speed up or slow down.

🎸 Did you know? C – Am – F – G is used in hundreds of pop songs. Try clicking C then the centre — you might recognise what comes out!

Click the centre of the circle after selecting a key to instantly generate common diatonic chord progressions — I–V–vi–IV, ii–V–I, I–IV–V, and more. These are the same harmonic building blocks found in countless popular songs across pop, jazz, blues, and classical music.

Once a progression is loaded you can hit ▶ Play to hear it, tweak individual chords, transpose to any key, or use it as a starting point for your own compositions.

Select a mode before generating to explore progressions rooted in Dorian, Mixolydian, Phrygian, and other modal colours — ideal for understanding how professional composers shift the emotional quality of the same key.

The Chord List card holds your chords so you can play them back and share with others.

Type chord names like Am C F G in the box — they light up on the wheel straight away. You can also use Roman numerals like i III VI VII if you prefer the theory shorthand.
Press ▶ Play to hear the chords played one by one.
Use Transpose +/− to move everything up or down — handy if the chords are in a key that's hard to sing!
Hit the Share button to copy a link. Send it to a friend or your music teacher — they'll see and hear exactly what you've made.

📚 Scroll down to Example Song Library in the Chord List card to load real song chord progressions instantly!

Use the Chord List card to build and play progressions.

Type chord names directly (e.g. Am C F G) or use Roman numerals (e.g. i III VI VII).
Shift+click circle segments to add or remove them from the list.
Long-press a circle segment to add or remove it from the list.
Press ▶ Play to hear the progression — the active chord lights up on the circle as it plays.
Use Transpose +/− to shift all chords by semitone.
Adjust BPM, beats per bar, and volume from the Settings bar at the top of the panel.
Scroll over the Playback Menu card to cycle through chord pills.
Swipe left/right on the Playback Menu card to cycle through chord pills.

Every setting, chord progression, selected key, tab voicing, BPM, and highlighted chord is encoded in the page URL. Use the Share button to copy a shareable link — anyone who opens it sees the exact same state.

Browse Example Song Library at the bottom of the Chord List card to load real-song progressions instantly.

The five-line grid in the Staff card is how music is written down. Every time you click a chord, the dots show you the exact notes in that chord!

The symbols at the left (♯ or ♭) show which key you're in — this is called the key signature.
Each dot sits on a line or space — higher up means a higher sound.
Use the ♭ and # buttons to swap between flat and sharp note names — C# and Db are the same note, just written differently!
Click the clef buttons at the bottom to switch between Treble and Bass clef.

🎹 If you play piano, try turning on both Treble and Bass clef — you'll see exactly which hand plays which notes!

The Staff card shows the key signature and the notes of the last played chord in real time.

Use the ♭ / # toggle to prefer flats or sharps.
Click the active button again to lock to double flats (𝄫) or double sharps (𝄪) for extreme enharmonic keys — click a third time to unlock.
Toggle clefs (Treble, Bass, Alto, Tenor) with the clef buttons on the card.
Click the key/chord display bar above the staff to play the chord again.

The Instrument card shows you how to play the chord on a real instrument — no music theory needed!

Use the icons at the bottom of the card to switch between Piano, Guitar, and Ukulele.
On guitar and ukulele, dots show which frets and strings to press. The number inside tells you which finger to use. These diagrams are also known as tabs (short for tablature — the same format as Guitar Tabs you find online).
On piano, the highlighted keys show exactly where to place your hands.
You can re-tune the guitar or ukulele by tapping the string-name buttons above the diagram.

🎸 Click any chord on the wheel, then look at the instrument card — it updates instantly to show you how to play it!

The Instrument card shows chord fingerings for Piano, Guitar, or Ukulele — switch with the icons at the bottom of the card. Guitar and ukulele diagrams are also known as tabs (short for tablature).

Guitar and ukulele can be re-tuned by tapping the string-name buttons above the diagram.
Enable or disable each instrument from Settings → Instrument Options.

Open Settings (the ⚙ button) to customise how things look and work:

Paint Related Chords — colours the chords that sound good together once you've picked a key. Great for learning which chords belong in the same key!
Piano Diagram — shows a piano keyboard around the outside of the circle, so you can see where everything sits on the keys.
Show Roman Numerals — labels each chord with a Roman numeral (I, ii, iii…) so you can start learning music theory notation.
Light / Dark — switch between colour themes.
Layout — move the cards to the left, right, or below the circle. Drag cards to reorder them.

Open Settings with the ⚙ SETTINGS button. Key options:

Paint Related Chords — colour-codes diatonic chords once a key is set.
Piano Diagram — overlays a piano keyboard on the circle's major ring.
Show Roman Numerals — toggles the Roman numeral labels.
Major Inside — swaps major and diminished rings.
Circle of Fourths — reverses the wheel direction.
Light / Dark / B&W Mode — switch colour schemes.
Layout — place cards Left, Right, or Below the circle; drag to reorder; use the eye icon to hide individual cards.

Lock any setting with the 🔒 icon to prevent it being cleared by ✕ RESET.

Click any major or minor segment to set it as the tonal centre. With Show Roman Numerals enabled in Settings, every other segment shows its harmonic function (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°) — the foundation of diatonic harmony, chord substitution, and songwriting.

Clicking a diminished segment highlights the vii° chord and shows its notes on the staff within the context of its parent major key.

Enable Paint Related Chords in Settings to colour-code the diatonic chords — gold for tonic, orange for dominant/subdominant, and muted for diminished.

Click the centre of the circle to generate common diatonic chord progressions (I–V–vi–IV, ii–V–I, etc.) for the selected key.

Connect a MIDI keyboard and allow browser access when prompted. The app detects chords and individual notes in real time — highlighting the matching segments on the circle and showing the notes on the staff.

The Record button (red circle, visible when a MIDI device is connected) captures every chord you play into the Chord List as a sequential progression — a fast way to transcribe ideas straight from your keyboard.
Use Settings → MIDI Settings to hide chord labels, disable auto-rotation, or mute note playback.

The Modes card reframes the Roman numerals through any of the seven diatonic modes: Ionian (major), Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian (natural minor), or Locrian. Each mode gives the same set of notes a different tonal character — Dorian has a warm, jazzy minor feel; Mixolydian is common in blues and rock; Lydian has a bright, floating quality.

It's hidden by default — enable it via Settings → Card Order, or tap a diminished segment and it will appear automatically.

Scroll over the Modes card to cycle through modes.
Swipe left/right on the Modes card to cycle through modes.

Try Mixolydian on G for a classic rock/blues feel, or Dorian on D to explore the sound used in countless jazz standards.

Shortcuts are active whenever no text input or dialog is focused.

`Space`	Generate chord progressions (click centre)
`Enter`	Play / Pause chord progression
`↑` / `↓`	Transpose up / down one semitone
`Delete`	Clear selection & reset (same as ✕ RESET)
`P`	Piano instrument
`G`	Guitar instrument
`U`	Ukulele instrument
`M`	Mute / unmute audio
`4`	Switch to Circle of Fourths
`5`	Switch to Circle of Fifths
`R`	Toggle Roman Numerals
`D`	Toggle Piano Diagram overlay
`C`	Toggle Piano Diagram Colour mode
`L`	Toggle Light / Dark mode
`B`	Toggle Black & White mode
`A`	Toggle Chord Sound Animation
`I`	Toggle Major Inside (invert rings)
`W`	Toggle Paint Related Chords