B♭ major
The major key with the tonic B♭. Its key signature has two flats, on B and on E, so B♭ and E♭ in the score. German-speaking countries call this key B-Dur, because they name B♭ simply “B” and B natural “H”.
- Tonic
- B♭
- Key signature
- 2 ♭ (B♭, E♭)
- Tonic chord
- B♭–D–F
- Dominant
- F major, F–A–C
- Subdominant
- E♭ major, E♭–G–B♭
- Relative key
- G minor
- Parallel key
- B♭ minor
Two flats before the first note
B♭ major is the second of the flat keys on the circle of fifths, after F major with one flat. On the Circle of Fifths page it is listed with “2 ♭ (on B and E)”, in notes that is B♭ and E♭. The order of the flats is B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭, F♭. B♭ major uses the first two.
There is a rule of thumb there for recognising a flat key: the tonic is the next-to-last flat of the key signature. With two flats the next-to-last is B♭ itself, so the key is B♭ major.
B♭ major scale
Two notes carry a flat: the tonic B♭ and E♭. All the others are natural notes. The semitone steps lie, as in every major scale, between the third and fourth degrees (D–E♭) and between the seventh and eighth (A–B♭).
The chords of B♭ major
On every degree of the scale a triad arises from two stacked thirds. In B♭ major the degrees I, IV and V are major chords, namely B♭, E♭ and F. They form the framework of most songs in this key. The degrees ii, iii and vi are minor chords, and on the seventh degree there is a diminished triad. The full derivation is on the page Diatonic chords.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | B♭ | B♭–D–F |
| ii | Cm | C–E♭–G |
| iii | Dm | D–F–A |
| IV | E♭ | E♭–G–B♭ |
| V | F | F–A–C |
| vi | Gm | G–B♭–D |
| vii° | A° | A–C–E♭ |
The highlighted chords are the three main functions: tonic, subdominant and dominant.
A cadence in B♭ major
The sequence B♭ – E♭ – F – B♭ is the simplest cadence of the key. It shows the three main functions one after another and then returns to the tonic. More closing formulas with sound examples are on the page Cadences.
- Authentic cadence F → B♭: the final close. See Full close (authentic cadence).
- Leading tone: in B♭ major the leading tone is A, a semitone below B♭. More in the article The leading tone.
B♭ major on the guitar
For B♭ major the guitar needs a barre shape, because there is no open position. The index finger sits across the five higher strings at the first fret, the three fingers above it fret the fifth, the root and the third. The low E string is not struck. If you move the shape you get every other major chord: at the second fret the same shape is B major, at the third C major. See Barre chord.
A piece in B♭ major to practise
The Maikstrings sheet music archive contains one piece in B♭ major. The key can be recognised in the PDF by the key signature with two flats and by the final note.
Piano
-
Menuett B-Dur BWV Anh. 118, from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (1725) · piano · 1 page
3/4, two flats at the start of the line, final note B♭ in both hands. In the second part there are natural signs before E: the E♭ of the key signature is cancelled there. Both parts have repeat signs. The composer is not certain; the minuet appears in Bach's notebook.
Common mistakes
- Setting only one flat: The key signature has two flats, one on B and one on E. With only one flat you get F major.
- Mixing up B and B♭: In German-speaking countries the note without an accidental is called H and the note with the flat B. In English “B♭ major” is the key on B♭, whereas “B major” means a different key, with five sharps (German H-Dur).
- B♭ major and G minor: Both have two flats. Whether a piece is in major or minor is shown by the ending.
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Related terms
G minorB♭ minorF majorE♭ majorRelative keyMajorTonicDominantSubdominantDiatonic chordCircle of fifthsKeyAccidentalBarre chordMinuet
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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