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B♭ major

B♭ major has 2 flats (B♭ and E♭). Its scale is B♭ C D E♭ F G A, its chords are B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm and Adim, and its relative minor is G minor.

Make a beat in B♭ majorWrite a melody in this key

Opens the free editor with a pop beat on B♭ F Gm E♭. No account needed to start.

The B♭ major scale

Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half: the half steps come between D and E♭, and between A and B♭.

B♭ C D E♭ F G A B♭

CDFGAB♭E♭B♭

On the piano, B♭ major uses 2 black keys (B♭ and E♭) and 5 white keys (C, D, F, G and A).

The notes of B♭ major by scale degree
DegreeNoteName
1B♭Tonic
2CSupertonic
3DMediant
4E♭Subdominant
5FDominant
6GSubmediant
7ALeading tone

Chords in B♭ major

One chord on each note of the scale, built from the scale’s own notes. The Roman numeral says which note it starts on: capitals are major, small letters minor.

IB♭
iiCm
iiiDm
IVE♭
VF
viGm
vii°Adim

Which chords sound happy or sad

Bright

B♭ E♭ F

I, IV, V. The major chords. B♭ feels like home; F pulls back to it.

Softer, sadder

Cm Dm Gm

ii, iii, vi. The minor chords. Gm is the sad turn in many pop songs.

Tense

Adim

vii°. Diminished: tense and unstable, it wants to move on, usually to B♭.

A progression in B♭ major

The pop progression · I–V–vi–IV
B♭
F
Gm
E♭
Hear it as

More progressions in B♭ major

Key signature and related keys

Key signature

2 flats: B♭ E♭

Written at the start of every line of music, so each B and E is played flat. Sharps join in the order F C G D A E B, and flats in the order B E A D G C F.

Relative minor

G minor

The same seven notes and key signature, starting on G.

Parallel minor

B♭ minor

The same home note, with 5 flats. Borrowing a chord from it makes a part sound darker.

Next to it on the circle of fifths

Keys next to each other share six of their seven notes. See them all on the circle of fifths.

B♭ major in beats

The editor’s starter beat for this style is written in B♭ major. It opens the free editor with its own drums, bass and chords at its usual tempo, no account needed.

Jazz waltz · 150 BPM

Questions about B♭ major

How many flats are in B♭ major?

Two: B♭ and E♭. Those notes are played flat every time, so the key signature has 2 flats, and G minor, its relative minor, has the same.

What is the relative minor of B♭ major?

G minor. It uses the same seven notes and the same key signature as B♭ major, but starts on G, the sixth note of the scale. The two share every chord, which is why songs move between them so easily.

What chords are in B♭ major?

B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm and Adim: one built on each note of the scale (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°). B♭, E♭ and F are the three major chords most songs in B♭ major lean on, and Gm (vi) gives a sadder turn.

What is the most common chord progression in B♭ major?

I–V–vi–IV: B♭, F, Gm and E♭. It is behind hundreds of hit songs, and it is the one the beat on this page plays.

Every key

Major keys
C majorG majorD majorA majorE majorB majorF♯ majorD♭ majorA♭ majorE♭ majorB♭ majorF major
Minor keys
A minorE minorB minorF♯ minorC♯ minorG♯ minorD♯ minorB♭ minorF minorC minorG minorD minor

Build a song in B♭ major

Start with the beat, then add chords, a melody and your voice in the editor, part by part.

Make a beat in B♭ majorAll music keys

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