The key of B♭ major on guitar

B♭ C D E♭ F G A — and everything inside it.

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The key of B♭ major on guitar: the scale, the chord on every degree, the seventh chords and the pentatonics — drawn above, each a tap away. The row of chips over the guitar is the key’s chords; the dropdown switches it to seventh chords or pentatonics, the shape menu draws a chord as one grip at a time, and a tap on any note finds the chords that hold it. For the why, read chords in a key.

The notes of B♭ major

B♭ major — also spelled A♯ major is B♭ C D E♭ F G A: the major scale on B♭, seven notes, labeled 1 to 7 on the guitar above. The scale on its own, in every position, is on its page.

The chords in B♭ major

The triad on each degree, stacked from the key’s own notes; the numeral’s case is the chord’s quality. The explorer above draws the six you can rest on.

DegreeChordNotes
IB♭B♭ D F
iiCmC E♭ G
iiiDmD F A
IVE♭E♭ G B♭
VFF A C
viGmG B♭ D
vii° — passed through, not rested onA C E♭

The seventh chords in B♭ major

One more third on each — the row on “Tetrads” above.

DegreeChordNotes
Imaj7B♭maj7B♭ D F A
ii7Cm7C E♭ G B♭
iii7Dm7D F A C
IVmaj7E♭maj7E♭ G B♭ D
V7F7F A C E♭
vi7Gm7G B♭ D F
viiø7Am7♭5 — passed through, not rested onA C E♭ G

The pentatonics in B♭ major

The five-note scale on each degree that fits inside the key — major where the degree’s chord is major, minor where it is minor. The row on “Pentatonics” above.

DegreeScaleNotes
IB♭ pentB♭ C D F G
iiCm pentC E♭ F G B♭
iiiDm pentD F G A C
IVE♭ pentE♭ F G B♭ C
VF pentF G A C D
viGm pentG B♭ C D F
viiAm pent — not in the keyA C D E G

The same notes from another home

Relative minor: G minor; Its dorian mode: C dorian; Its phrygian mode: D phrygian; Its lydian mode: E♭ lydian; Its mixolydian mode: F mixolydian. Parallel minor, the same root with different notes: B♭ minor.

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