Eb major the chords in the key
- Scale
- Eb F G Ab Bb C D
- Key signature
- three flats: Bb Eb Ab
- Relative minor
- C minor
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Eb | Eb G Bb | |
| ii | Fm | F Ab C | |
| iii | Gm | G Bb D | |
| IV | Ab | Ab C Eb | |
| V | Bb | Bb D F | |
| vi | Cm | C Eb G | |
| vii° | Ddim | D F Ab |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Ebmaj7 | Eb G Bb D | |
| ii7 | Fm7 | F Ab C Eb | |
| iii7 | Gm7 | G Bb D F | |
| IVmaj7 | Abmaj7 | Ab C Eb G | |
| V7 | Bb7 | Bb D F Ab | |
| vi7 | Cm7 | C Eb G Bb | |
| viiø7 | Dm7b5 | D F Ab C |
Common progressions in Eb 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 1. With a capo on fret 1, play the open shapes D for Eb, G for Ab, A for Bb: they sound as the I, IV and V (Eb, Ab and Bb). The vi chord, Cm, does not become an open shape at that fret.
How the chords of Eb major work
Eb major uses the notes Eb F G Ab Bb C D, three flats: Bb Eb Ab. Stack every other note of that scale on each degree and you get the seven chords above: three major (Eb, Ab and Bb: I, IV and V), three minor (Fm, Gm and Cm: ii, iii and vi) and one diminished (Ddim, vii°). Most songs in Eb lean on Eb, Ab and Bb, with Cm as the fourth chord.
The V7, Bb7 (Bb D F Ab), is the chord that sounds like it wants to come home: its D rises a semitone to Eb and its Ab falls a semitone to G. A song that ends Bb7 to Eb is almost certainly in Eb major.
Cm is also the home chord of C 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.