B major the chords in the key
- Scale
- B C# D# E F# G# A#
- Key signature
- five sharps: F# C# G# D# A#
- Relative minor
- G# minor
- Also written
- Cb major (seven flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb): the same sounds, spelled from Cb
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | B | B D# F# | |
| ii | C#m | C# E G# | |
| iii | D#m (same notes, spelled Ebm on its chord page) | D# F# A# | |
| IV | E | E G# B | |
| V | F# | F# A# C# | |
| vi | G#m | G# B D# | |
| vii° | A#dim | A# C# E |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Bmaj7 | B D# F# A# | |
| ii7 | C#m7 | C# E G# B | |
| iii7 | D#m7 (same notes, spelled Ebm7 on its chord page) | D# F# A# C# | |
| IVmaj7 | Emaj7 | E G# B D# | |
| V7 | F#7 | F# A# C# E | |
| vi7 | G#m7 | G# B D# F# | |
| viiø7 | A#m7b5 | A# C# E G# |
Common progressions in B 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 4. With a capo on fret 4, play the open shapes G for B, C for E, D for F#, Em for G#m: they sound as the I, IV, V and vi (B, E, F# and G#m).
How the chords of B major work
B major uses the notes B C# D# E F# G# A#, five sharps: F# C# G# D# A#. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (B, E and F#: I, IV and V), three minor (C#m, D#m and G#m: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (A#dim, vii°). Most songs in B lean on B, E and F#, with G#m as the fourth chord.
The V7, F#7 (F# A# C# E), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its A# rises a semitone to B and its E falls a semitone to D#. A song that ends F#7 to B is almost certainly in B major.
G#m 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.