B♭ major scale on piano

B♭ major runs B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F – G – A – B♭. Major follows whole–whole–half–whole–whole–whole–half steps. The key signature is 2 flats (B♭, E♭). B♭, E♭ are black keys; the other 5 scale notes are played on white keys. The last B♭ is the first note again, one octave higher.

B♭ major notes and fingering

Fingers are numbered 1 (thumb) to 5 (little finger). These are the one-octave ascending fingerings for the major form, one hand at a time:

Fingering source: LearnMusicTheory.net, “Major and Natural Minor Scales for Piano,” §2.7.

Play slowly until every note has the same length. At a 1 in the middle of the right-hand row, pass the thumb underneath. At a 3 or 4 after left-hand 1, cross that finger over. Descend by reversing the same finger numbers. Keep your hand loose where it crosses.

Key signature and relative key

B♭ major has 2 flats (B♭, E♭). Its relative minor is G minor. The relative minor starts on G, three half steps below B♭. They share a key signature and the same seven notes.

Hear the two half steps

The smallest moves in B♭ major are D to E♭ and A to the upper B♭. Each pair is one neighboring piano key apart. All the other moves between adjacent scale degrees are whole steps, two neighboring keys apart. Play just those half-step pairs, then play the full scale slowly to hear where they fall.

Next, stop on F, degree 5, before finishing at the upper B♭. Compare that pause with stopping on degree 3, D. The fifth feels open because the melody has not returned to its starting note; the last note gives the phrase a clear landing. Try the I and V chords below after you hear that motion in the single-note scale.

The seven chords in B♭ major

Stack every other scale note to make three-note chords. The Roman numeral tells you which degree supplies the root; upper-case numerals are major, lower-case are minor, and ° means diminished.

The last chord, vii°, is diminished because its outer notes are six half steps apart.

Progressions to try

• I – IV – V – I: B♭ – E♭ – F – B♭. Play each chord for four beats.
• I – V – vi – IV: B♭ – F – Gm – E♭. This loop gives the same scale notes a different sense of arrival.

Play the scale up and down, then try each progression without leaving the key. Start one hand at a time, and use the highlighted keyboard above to check any note. The scale finder and piano chord finder let you compare other keys.