E major
Key signature 4 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯
Chords of the key · click to hear
How to read it
Clockwise each key is a fifth higher and adds one sharp (or drops a flat). Anticlockwise is a fourth higher and adds a flat.
Rings. Each major shares its notes with the minor inside it (its relative minor) and the diminished chord on its 7th.
The chords of a key are the lit slice: three majors side by side (IV I V), the three minors under them (ii vi iii) and one diminished (vii°).
Neighbours differ by one note, so modulating one step round sounds smooth. Moving anticlockwise is resolving: V to I, and ii V I walks two steps home.
Secondary dominants. The major one step clockwise of any chord is its dominant (V of V: D to G in C major).