Eb major chord on piano

The Eb chord (Eb major, also written D# major) is three notes: E♭, G and B♭. Start on E♭, count four half steps up to G, then three more to B♭.

  • E♭root, 1
  • Gmajor 3rd, 3
  • B♭perfect 5th, 5
G3E♭1B♭5

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play Eb major on piano

  1. Find E♭, the second black key of a group of two.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on E♭.
  3. Count four half steps up, black and white keys alike, to G. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count three more half steps to B♭ for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play E♭ an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. G3E♭1B♭5

    Root position

    E♭, G, B♭

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. G1B♭2E♭5

    1st inversion

    G, B♭, E♭

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. G5B♭1E♭3

    2nd inversion

    B♭, E♭, G

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice Eb major

Hold each position of E♭ major for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

GE♭B♭
  1. Root positionE♭–G–B♭
  2. 1st inversionG–B♭–E♭
  3. 2nd inversionB♭–E♭–G

The shape of Eb major

Eb major is black, white, black: G is the only white key. C# major and Ab major have the same pattern.

Eb major is built from the E♭ major scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. E♭1
  2. F2
  3. G3
  4. A♭4
  5. B♭5
  6. C6
  7. D7

Smooth changes from Eb major

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of Eb major's own key: Ab and Bb.

  • CE♭A♭

    From Eb to Ab, play Ab in 2nd inversion (E♭–A♭–C): E♭ stays, G moves up a half step to A♭ and B♭ moves up two half steps to C.

  • DFB♭

    From Eb to Bb, play Bb in 1st inversion (D–F–B♭): E♭ moves down a half step to D, G moves down two half steps to F and B♭ stays.

Eb major on the staff and on guitar

♭♭
On the treble staff, E♭ sits on the bottom line, G on the second line and B♭ on the middle line.
××1243E♭B♭E♭G
D shape, 1st fretFrets, low E to high E: x x 1 3 4 3
6fr×13331E♭B♭E♭GB♭
A shape, 6th fretFrets, low E to high E: x 6 8 8 8 6

Keys with Eb major in them

  • E♭ majorIE♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭, Cm, Ddim
  • A♭ majorVA♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭, Fm, Gdim
  • B♭ majorIVB♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm, Adim
  • C minorIIICm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭
  • F minorVIIFm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭
  • G minorVIGm, Adim, B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F
  • G♯ minorVFrom G♯ harmonic minor, which raises the scale's 7th note a half step so this chord leads back to G♯.

Progressions that use it

  • I–IV–V, in E♭ major

    1. IE♭
    2. IVA♭
    3. VB♭

  • I–V–vi–IV, in E♭ major

    1. IE♭
    2. VB♭
    3. viCm
    4. IVA♭

  • vi–IV–I–V, in E♭ major

    1. viCm
    2. IVA♭
    3. IE♭
    4. VB♭

  • I–vi–IV–V (the 50s progression), in E♭ major

    1. IE♭
    2. viCm
    3. IVA♭
    4. VB♭

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the Eb major chord chart

Eb major chord on piano keyboard, notes E♭ G B♭
Download the Eb major chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for Eb major

E♭ major is a black-key chord with one white key in the middle: E♭ and B♭ are black, G is white. The shape is black, white, black, the same as A♭ major and D♭ major, so the hand position you build here carries over.

Where it goes wrong. The thumb on E♭ is the risk. A thumb on a black key feels unusual at first, and players tend to tilt the hand to avoid it, which pushes the little finger off B♭. Keep the hand level, move it forward into the keys, and let the thumb play the black key from its side.

How to practice it. Press the chord, then lift and find E♭ again from a different starting point each time: from middle C, from the G above, from a random key. Then try the change to A♭ in 2nd inversion (E♭–A♭–C), keeping the thumb on E♭ while the other two fingers step up.

What to listen for. The G in the middle carries the chord’s major sound. Lower it to G♭ and you have E♭ minor; raise it back and listen to the difference. Play it softly and evenly in the middle of the keyboard before trying it louder.

What to learn next. A♭ major and B♭ major, its IV and V chords. All three use the same black-and-white habits.

Questions

What notes are in a Eb major chord?

E♭, G and B♭. E♭ is the root, G is a major 3rd above it and B♭ is a perfect 5th above it.

How is Eb major different from Eb minor?

Only the middle note changes. Eb minor lowers G a half step to G♭; the other two notes stay.

Is Eb major the same as D# major?

Yes. On the piano they are the same three keys. Eb major is spelled E♭, G and B♭; D# major is spelled D♯, F𝄪 and A♯. Which name a piece uses depends on its key signature.

What does the chord symbol Eb mean?

A letter on its own means a major chord, so E♭ means Eb major: E♭, G and B♭. You may also see it written E♭M, E♭maj or E♭Δ.