E flat major scale

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

  1. E♭1
  2. whole
  3. F2
  4. whole
  5. G3
  6. half
  7. A♭4
  8. whole
  9. B♭5
  10. whole
  11. C6
  12. whole
  13. D7
  14. half
  15. E♭8
F1G2C1D2E♭3A♭3B♭4E♭3

E♭ major on the staff, piano and guitar

On the staff

♭♭♭E♭FGA♭B♭CDE♭♭♭♭E♭FGA♭B♭CDE♭

On piano

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

F2G1C2D1E♭3A♭4B♭3E♭3

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

56789EBGDAEB♭CDE♭FGA♭B♭CDE♭FGA♭B♭C

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

How to play the E flat major scale on piano

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

Practice the E♭ major scale

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

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

The key of E♭ major

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

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

The name of each note in the key

  1. 1E♭tonic
  2. 2Fsupertonic
  3. 3Gmediant
  4. 4A♭subdominant
  5. 5B♭dominant
  6. 6Csubmediant
  7. 7Dleading tone

Chords in E♭ 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. IE♭
  2. iiFm
  3. iiiGm
  4. IVA♭
  5. VB♭
  6. viCm
  7. vii°Ddim

Modes on the same notes

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

Practice notes for the E flat major scale

E♭ major has three flats, B♭ E♭ A♭: E♭ F G A♭ B♭ C D E♭. It starts on a black key, so the right hand cannot start on the thumb. Finger 3 plays E♭, and the thumb comes in on F, the very next note.

Where it goes wrong. That second note. The thumb passing under after only one note feels wrong to hands used to C major, so players start on the thumb anyway or rush the crossing. Right hand: 3 on E♭, 1 on F, then 2 3 4 for G A♭ B♭, thumb under to C, and 2 3 for D E♭. The left hand starts on 3 as well: 3 2 1 for E♭ F G, then 4 crosses over to A♭, and 3 2 1 3 to the top.

How to practice it. Practice the first two notes alone, E♭ to F with 3 then 1, until the thumb arrives without a bump. Then add the rest. The right hand’s 4th finger falls on B♭ and the left hand’s on A♭; those are the landmarks to check.

What to listen for. D to E♭ at the top and G to A♭ in the middle, the two half steps. In the right hand the second one, G to A♭, is fingers 2 to 3, so it should be the smoothest step in the scale.

What to learn next. C minor, the relative minor with the same three flats, and A♭ major, one flat more.

Questions

What are the notes of the E♭ major scale?

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

What chords are in the key of E♭ major?

E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭, Cm and Ddim: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi and vii°.

Why does E♭ major have three flats?

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

What is the relative minor of E♭ major?

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