Bb major the chords in the key
- Scale
- Bb C D Eb F G A
- Key signature
- two flats: Bb Eb
- Relative minor
- G minor
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Bb | Bb D F | |
| ii | Cm | C Eb G | |
| iii | Dm | D F A | |
| IV | Eb | Eb G Bb | |
| V | F | F A C | |
| vi | Gm | G Bb D | |
| vii° | Adim | A C Eb |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Bbmaj7 | Bb D F A | |
| ii7 | Cm7 | C Eb G Bb | |
| iii7 | Dm7 | D F A C | |
| IVmaj7 | Ebmaj7 | Eb G Bb D | |
| V7 | F7 | F A C Eb | |
| vi7 | Gm7 | G Bb D F | |
| viiø7 | Am7b5 | A C Eb G |
Common progressions in Bb major
- I–V–vi–IV the four-chord pop loop
- I–IV–V three-chord rock, folk and country
- ii–V–I the jazz cadence, in sevenths
- vi–IV–I–V the same four chords starting on the minor one
- 12-bar blues one chord per bar; every chord a dominant 7, which the major scale alone does not give
On guitar
Capo 3. With a capo on fret 3, play the open shapes G for Bb, C for Eb, D for F, Em for Gm: they sound as the I, IV, V and vi (Bb, Eb, F and Gm).
How the chords of Bb major work
Bb major uses the notes Bb C D Eb F G A, two flats: Bb Eb. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (Bb, Eb and F: I, IV and V), three minor (Cm, Dm and Gm: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (Adim, vii°). Most songs in Bb lean on Bb, Eb and F, with Gm as the fourth chord.
The V7, F7 (F A C Eb), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its A rises a semitone to Bb and its Eb falls a semitone to D. A song that ends F7 to Bb is almost certainly in Bb major.
Gm is also the home chord of G minor, the relative minor: it uses exactly the same seven notes and the same seven chords. So a chord list from this page can be in either key; it is usually in the one whose home chord it starts or ends on.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative minor, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.