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B major

B major has 5 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ and A♯). Its scale is B C♯ D♯ E F♯ G♯ A♯, its chords are B, C♯m, D♯m, E, F♯, G♯m and A♯dim, 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♯ G♯m 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

BEBC♯D♯F♯G♯A♯

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

The notes of B major by scale degree
DegreeNoteName
1BTonic
2C♯Supertonic
3D♯Mediant
4ESubdominant
5F♯Dominant
6G♯Submediant
7A♯Leading 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
iiC♯m
iiiD♯m
IVE
VF♯
viG♯m
vii°A♯dim

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

C♯m D♯m G♯m

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

Tense

A♯dim

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♯
G♯m
E
Hear it as

More progressions in B major

Key signature and related keys

Key signature

5 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯

Written at the start of every line of music, so each F, C, G, D and A is played sharp. 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 2 sharps. 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

None of the editor’s genre starters is written in B major, so the beat above plays its chords over lo-fi, pop, trap, house or drill drums. Set the editor’s project key to B major and the chords and parts you add next follow it.

Questions about B major

How many sharps are in B major?

Five: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ and A♯. Those notes are played sharp every time, so the key signature has 5 sharps, 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, C♯m, D♯m, E, F♯, G♯m and A♯dim: 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 G♯m (vi) gives a sadder turn.

What is the most common chord progression in B major?

I–V–vi–IV: B, F♯, G♯m 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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