What are the basic chords in the key of E flat major?
First of all let’s take a look at the Eb major scale. The notes of this scale are Eb F G Ab Bb C D. Each of these notes is the root note of one of the chords in E flat major. The pattern of chords in a major key is Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished.
Therefore, the triad chords in this key are Eb major, F minor, G minor, Ab major, Bb major, C minor and D diminished. The four note chords are Eb major seventh, F minor seventh, G minor seventh, Ab major seventh, Bb dominant seventh, C minor seventh, and D minor seventh flat five.
All of these chords make use of the notes in the Eb major scale only.
To learn more about chords by key (what chords are in what key and why), check out my book, Master Piano Chords By Key And Give Yourself A Big Advantage When Playing, Learning Or Writing Songs.
(The Key Of D Sharp Major
The key of D sharp major makes use of the same chords and scale notes except that the notes and chords have different names. But because of notation difficulties caused by the need for a double sharp, this key is hardly used. )
Roman numerals indicate each chord’s position relative to the scale. Those for major chords are capitalized while minor and diminished chords are lower case.
- I – Eb major, Eb major seventh (Ebmaj, Ebmaj7)
- ii – F minor, F minor seventh (Fm, Fm7)
- iii – G minor, G minor seventh (Gm, Gm7)
- IV – Ab major, Ab major seventh (Ab, Abmaj 7)
- V – Bb major, Bb dominant seventh (Bb, Bb7)
- vi – C minor, C minor seventh (Cm, Cm7)
- vii° – D diminished, D minor seventh flat five (D°, Dm7b5)
Watch this lesson:
Piano Chords In The Key Of E Flat Major
The following chart shows triads and four note chords in the key of E flat major.
Let’s now take a look at each chord and the notes they contain.
- Chord I – E flat major (Eb – G – Bb). Eb major seventh (Eb – G – Bb – D)
- Chord ii – F minor (F – Ab – C). F minor seventh (F – Ab – C – Eb)
- Chord iii – G minor (G – Bb – D). G minor seventh (G – Bb – D – F)
- Chord IV – A flat major (Ab – C – Eb). Ab major seventh (Ab – C – Eb – G)
- Chord V – B flat major (Bb – D – F). Bb dominant seventh (Bb – D – F – Ab)
- Chord vi – C minor (C – Eb – G). C minor seventh (C – Eb – G – Bb)
- Chord vii° – D diminished (D – F – Ab). D minor seventh flat five (D – F – Ab – C)
Common chord progressions in the key of E flat major are as follows:
- I – IV – V (Eb – Ab – Bb)
- I – vi – IV – V (Eb – Cm – Ab – Bb)
- ii – V – I (Fm7 – Bb7 – Ebmaj7)
Here’s a diagram of the E flat major key signature and the notes of the E flat major scale. The E flat key signature has 3 flats, Bb, Eb, and Ab.
Here’s a diagram showing the Eb major scale on piano.
Further Reading:
My best recommendation on this site for piano lessons is Piano For All. Check it out. Click here to learn all about Piano For All.