ChordWheel › Keys › B major
Chords in the key of B major
B major has 5 sharps (F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯). Its seven chords are B, C♯m, D♯m, E, F♯, G♯m, A♯° . Its relative minor is G♯ minor , which uses the same chords with G♯m 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 IV ii B major G♯ minor B G♯m I vi F♯ major D♯ minor F♯ D♯m V iii D♭ major B♭ minor D♭ B♭m A♭ major F minor A♭ Fm E♭ major C minor E♭ Cm B♭ major G minor B♭ Gm F major D minor F Dm 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 Bmaj7 ii C♯m C♯m7 iii D♯m D♯m7 IV E Emaj7 V F♯ F♯7 vi G♯m G♯m7 vii° A♯° A♯m7♭5
I
7fr root on 6th string
× root on 5th string
B · D♯ · F♯ ii
9fr root on 6th string
4fr × root on 5th string
C♯ · E · G♯ D♯m iii
11fr root on 6th string
6fr × root on 5th string
D♯ · F♯ · A♯ IV
open
7fr × root on 5th string
E · G♯ · B V
root on 6th string
9fr × root on 5th string
F♯ · A♯ · C♯ G♯m vi
4fr root on 6th string
11fr × root on 5th string
G♯ · B · D♯ 7th chords
D♯m7 iii7
D♯ · F♯ · A♯ · C♯ A♯m7♭5 viiø7
A♯ · C♯ · E · G♯
Common progressions in B major
B F♯ G♯m E I V vi IV The pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You) B G♯m E F♯ I vi IV V 50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me) G♯m 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 C♯m 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 Em 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.
G♯7 V7/ii
G♯ · B♯ · D♯ · F♯ A♯7 V7/iii
A♯ · C♯♯ · E♯ · G♯ D♯7 V7/vi
D♯ · F♯♯ · A♯ · C♯ 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 (Bsus4 → B). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: Bsus2, Bsus4, Badd9); 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 B major? The seven chords in B major are B, C#m, D#m, E, F#, G#m, A#°. As 7th chords: Bmaj7, C#m7, D#m7, Emaj7, F#7, G#m7, A#m7b5.
How many sharps or flats does B major have? B major has 5 sharps (F# C# G# D# A#).
What is the relative minor of B major? G# minor. It uses exactly the same notes and chords; only the home chord changes.
What are common chord progressions in B major? I V vi IV: B F# G#m E; I vi IV V: B G#m E F#; vi IV I V: G#m E B F#.