ChordWheel › Keys › Bb major
Chords in the key of B♭ major
B♭ major has 2 flats (B♭ E♭). Its seven chords are B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm, A° . Its relative minor is G minor , which uses the same chords with Gm as home.
C major A minor C Am G major E minor G Em D major B minor D Bm A major F♯ minor A F♯m E major C♯ minor E C♯m B major G♯ minor B G♯m F♯ major D♯ minor F♯ D♯m D♭ major B♭ minor D♭ B♭m A♭ major F minor A♭ Fm E♭ major C minor E♭ Cm IV ii B♭ major G minor B♭ Gm I vi F major D minor F Dm V iii B♭ 4 2 1 6 5 3 On the wheel, IV, I and V sit side by side on the outer ring with ii, vi and iii right below them. Tap any key on the wheel to go to its page.
Open B♭ major in the interactive wheel
The seven chords
Number Chord 7th chord I B♭ B♭maj7 ii Cm Cm7 iii Dm Dm7 IV E♭ E♭maj7 V F F7 vi Gm Gm7 vii° A° Am7♭5
I
6fr root on 6th string
× root on 5th string
B♭ · D · F ii
8fr root on 6th string
3fr × root on 5th string
C · E♭ · G iii
× × open
10fr root on 6th string
D · F · A IV
11fr root on 6th string
6fr × root on 5th string
E♭ · G · B♭ V
root on 6th string
8fr × root on 5th string
F · A · C vi
3fr root on 6th string
10fr × root on 5th string
G · B♭ · D 7th chords
Common progressions in B♭ major
B♭ F Gm E♭ I V vi IV The pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You) B♭ Gm E♭ F I vi IV V 50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me) Gm E♭ B♭ F vi IV I V The same four from the minor side (Zombie, Africa-style) B♭ E♭ F I IV V Three-chord rock, blues and country Cm F B♭ ii V I The jazz cadence B♭ A♭ E♭ B♭ I ♭VII IV I Rock's borrowed cadence (Hey Jude coda, Sweet Child O' Mine) B♭ E♭ E♭m B♭ I IV iv I The bittersweet ending (Creep)
Borrowed from the minor Chords from B♭ minor dropped into B♭ major. Rock lives on ♭VII; IV then iv then I is the bittersweet move (Creep).
Secondary dominants A 7th chord that leads into another chord of the key as if it were home for a moment. Its root is one step clockwise of its target on the wheel.
Colour chords The same slot on the wheel with a different flavour. Sus chords swap the 3rd for the 2nd or 4th and like to resolve back to the plain chord (B♭sus4 → B♭). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: B♭sus2, B♭sus4, B♭add9); the small label is the slot they sit in.
The B♭ major scale
B♭ major: B♭ C D E♭ F G A . The key's seven chords are built from these notes; the borrowed and secondary chords above bring in notes from outside it.
Related keys
E♭ major : one step counterclockwise; A becomes A♭. A smooth key change.F major : one step clockwise; E♭ becomes E. A smooth key change.G minor : the relative minor, same notes.B♭ minor : the parallel minor, same home note, where the borrowed chords come from.
Questions What chords are in the key of Bb major? The seven chords in Bb major are Bb, Cm, Dm, Eb, F, Gm, A°. As 7th chords: Bbmaj7, Cm7, Dm7, Ebmaj7, F7, Gm7, Am7b5.
How many sharps or flats does Bb major have? Bb major has 2 flats (Bb Eb).
What is the relative minor of Bb major? G minor. It uses exactly the same notes and chords; only the home chord changes.
What are common chord progressions in Bb major? I V vi IV: Bb F Gm Eb; I vi IV V: Bb Gm Eb F; vi IV I V: Gm Eb Bb F.