B flat major scale

The B♭ major scale is B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G and A, with two flats. From B♭, the steps go whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half.

  1. B♭1
  2. whole
  3. C2
  4. whole
  5. D3
  6. half
  7. E♭4
  8. whole
  9. F5
  10. whole
  11. G6
  12. whole
  13. A7
  14. half
  15. B♭8
C1D2F1G2A3B♭2E♭3B♭4

B♭ major on the staff, piano and guitar

On the staff

♭♭B♭CDE♭FGAB♭♭♭B♭CDE♭FGAB♭

On piano

Right hand 2 1 2 3, then the thumb passes under to F: 1 2 3 4.

C2D1F3G2A1B♭3E♭4B♭3

Left hand 3 2 1, then finger 4 crosses over to E♭: 4 3 2 1 3.

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Coming down, play the same fingers in reverse.

On guitar

56789EBGDAEAB♭CDE♭FGAB♭CDE♭FGAB♭C

Every note of B♭ major between the 5th and 9th fret. The root, B♭, has a heavy ring.

How to play the B flat major scale on piano

  1. Find B♭, the third black key of a group of three.
  2. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to C.
  3. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to D.
  4. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to E♭, a black key.
  5. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to F.
  6. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to G.
  7. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to A.
  8. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to B♭, an octave above where you started.

Practice the B♭ major scale

Play the B♭ major scale one note a beat, up and back down: B♭ C D E♭ F G A B♭ A G F E♭ D C B♭. Hands separately first. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every note lands on the beat.

B♭
  1. B♭
  2. C
  3. D
  4. E♭
  5. F
  6. G
  7. A
  8. B♭
  9. A
  10. G
  11. F
  12. E♭
  13. D
  14. C
  15. B♭

The key of B♭ major

Follow the major pattern from B♭ and two notes need a flat: B♭ and E♭. Those two flats are the key signature.

Relative minor
G minor
Parallel minor
B♭ minor
Neighbors on the circle of fifths
E♭ major and F major
♭♭CAmGEmDBmAF♯mEC♯mBC♭G♯mA♭mF♯G♭D♯mE♭mD♭C♯B♭mA♯mA♭FmE♭IVCmiiB♭IGmviFVDmiiiB♭ major
B♭ major on the circle of fifths, with the chords of its key marked.

The name of each note in the key

  1. 1B♭tonic
  2. 2Csupertonic
  3. 3Dmediant
  4. 4E♭subdominant
  5. 5Fdominant
  6. 6Gsubmediant
  7. 7Aleading tone

Chords in B♭ major

Build a chord on each note of the scale, using only the scale's notes, and you get the seven chords of the key. The numeral is the chord's place in the key: capitals for major, small letters for minor.

  1. IB♭
  2. iiCm
  3. iiiDm
  4. IVE♭
  5. VF
  6. viGm
  7. vii°Adim

Modes on the same notes

Start the B♭ major scale on another of its notes and you get a mode, with the same key signature: B♭ ionian, C dorian, D phrygian, E♭ lydian, F mixolydian, G aeolian, A locrian.

Practice notes for the B flat major scale

B♭ major has two flats, B♭ and E♭: B♭ C D E♭ F G A B♭. Neither hand starts on the thumb. The right hand begins with finger 2 on B♭, and the left with finger 3, so that no thumb ever lands on a black key.

Where it goes wrong. Starting on the thumb anyway. A thumb on B♭ makes every crossing that follows land in the wrong place. In the right hand the fingers are 2 1 2 3, then the thumb passes under to F, then 1 2 3 4, so the top B♭ falls to finger 4. The thumbs play only C and F in the right hand, D and A in the left.

How to practice it. Learn where the 4th finger goes, because it is the anchor: right hand on B♭, left hand on E♭. Find those two black keys, put the 4th finger on each, and build the rest of the fingering around them. Hands separately, slowly, then together.

What to listen for. A to B♭ at the top, the half step home. Then D to E♭, the other half step, in the middle. If E♭ comes out as E, the scale suddenly sounds like F major started in the wrong place.

What to learn next. G minor, the relative minor with the same two flats, and F major again, to hear how the key changes with one flat fewer.

Questions

What are the notes of the B♭ major scale?

B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G and A, then B♭ again an octave up.

What chords are in the key of B♭ major?

B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm and Adim: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi and vii°.

Why does B♭ major have two flats?

Follow the major pattern from B♭ and two notes need a flat: B♭ and E♭. Those two flats are the key signature.

What is the relative minor of B♭ major?

G minor. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on G.