The notes of E♭ major
E♭ major has three notes, E♭, G and B♭: G is a major 3rd above E♭ and B♭ is a perfect 5th above E♭. That gives the formula 1 3 5, a root, a major third (4 half steps) and a perfect fifth (7 half steps). In keys written with sharps the same keys are called D♯ major: D♯, F𝄪 and A♯, a spelling with double sharps or flats that you’ll rarely meet.
How it sounds and where it’s used
A major chord sounds bright, open and settled: it’s the sound of arriving. Most songs and pieces begin and end on one, and in any major key the three major chords (I, IV and V) can harmonise almost any simple melody. You’ll meet E♭ major most as I in E♭ major, IV in B♭ major and V in A♭ major.
- Lower the middle note a half step, G to G♭, and it becomes E♭ minor: the same root and fifth, a darker third.
- Its relative minor is C minor, which shares two of its notes (E♭ and G).
- As V, it leads home to A♭ major; add D♭ on top and you have E♭7, which pulls there even harder.
Fingering
The thumb and little finger take the outer notes. Where two notes are a fourth apart rather than a third, the finger in between is skipped, which is why the inversions change the middle finger. In root position and 2nd inversion the right thumb lands on a black key: move the whole hand a little further in towards the fallboard, so the fingers on white keys stay on them.
| Position | Notes | Right hand | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | E♭ G B♭ | 1-3-5 | 5-3-1 |
| 1st inversion | G B♭ E♭ | 1-2-5 | 5-3-1 |
| 2nd inversion | B♭ E♭ G | 1-3-5 | 5-2-1 |
Fingers count from the thumb (1) to the little finger (5). Shown low to high, so the left hand starts with 5.
Inversions
The same three notes can be stacked with any of them lowest. 1st inversion puts the third at the bottom: G, B♭ and E♭, written E♭/G. 2nd inversion puts the fifth at the bottom: B♭, E♭ and G, written E♭/B♭. Whatever is on top, the chord is still E♭ major: the lowest note only changes its colour. Pianists choose the position that is nearest to the chord before, so the hand moves by a step instead of jumping.
Keys with E♭ major
E♭ major is I, the home chord, of the key of E♭ major. These are all the keys it belongs to:
- I in E♭ major
- IV in B♭ major
- V in A♭ major
- VI in G minor
- III in C minor
- VII in F minor
- V in A♭ minor (harmonic minor)
A key marked harmonic minor uses the raised 7th of that minor scale, as minor-key music does for its V and vii° chords.
Finding it fast
Count half steps from E♭, black keys included: G 4 half steps above E♭ and B♭ 3 half steps above G. In root position its keys are black, white, black. D♭ major and A♭ major have the same shape on the keys, so learn them together.
To read it on the page as quickly, practise the shapes with the chord reading quiz, and see how the notes are counted in intervals.