The Circle of Keys
As described in the page on consonance, there are 12 different notes within one octave. Each
of these notes can be considered a major or minor key center, depending on the choice of scale
used above each of the 12 notes (i.e. major scale or harmonic minor scale). The 24 resulting keys
can be represented by the following circle:
Major keys are colored Yellow. Minor keys are colored Aqua.
Note that Ebm and D#m are equivalent keys. The same is true for Gb and F#.
As illustrated in Chords (basic), each key embodies a set of chords which provide the building
blocks for harmonic progressions. Guidelines for constructing harmonic progressions within a
given key are illustrated in the Chord Flow Chart. However, the possibility for creating interesting
and refreshing progressions is greatly enhanced by undergoing changes of key during the
progression. This practice is called modulation. The section Key (in-depth) shows how to organize
and notate modulation.
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