Chords in E♭ major
Find all seven triads and seventh chords in E♭ major, then hear how they work in a short progression.
Chords in E♭ Major
| Degree | Chord | Notes | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | E♭ | E♭ · G · B♭ | Major |
| ii | Fm | F · A♭ · C | Minor |
| iii | Gm | G · B♭ · D | Minor |
| IV | A♭ | A♭ · C · E♭ | Major |
| V | B♭ | B♭ · D · F | Major |
| vi | Cm | C · E♭ · G | Minor |
| vii° | Ddim | D · F · A♭ | Diminished |
Stack every other note of the scale. The pattern of thirds determines each chord quality.
I–IV–V–I progression
Sevenths
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | E♭maj7 | E♭ · G · B♭ · D |
| ii7 | Fm7 | F · A♭ · C · E♭ |
| iii7 | Gm7 | G · B♭ · D · F |
| IVmaj7 | A♭maj7 | A♭ · C · E♭ · G |
| V7 | B♭7 | B♭ · D · F · A♭ |
| vi7 | Cm7 | C · E♭ · G · B♭ |
| viiø7 | Dm7♭5 | D · F · A♭ · C |
Ready to play. Sound starts when you press Play.
Start with the scale
The E♭-major collection is E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭ · C · D, with 3 flats in its signature. Build a chord on each scale note by taking every other note, wrapping around the scale as needed.
B-flat, E-flat and A-flat are in the signature. The leading tone is D natural, just a semitone below E-flat; it should not be replaced with D-flat.
The seven diatonic triads
The sequence is E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭, Cm, Ddim. Capital Roman numerals mark major triads; lowercase numerals mark minor triads, and the small circle marks the diminished triad.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | E♭ | E♭ · G · B♭ |
| ii | Fm | F · A♭ · C |
| iii | Gm | G · B♭ · D |
| IV | A♭ | A♭ · C · E♭ |
| V | B♭ | B♭ · D · F |
| vi | Cm | C · E♭ · G |
| vii° | Ddim | D · F · A♭ |
Add one more scale third
Continuing the same stacking process produces the seven chords below. The V7 chord is B♭7, containing B♭ · D · F · A♭. Its seventh is taken from this scale, not added by assuming every seventh is major.
| Degree | Seventh chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | E♭maj7 | E♭ · G · B♭ · D |
| ii7 | Fm7 | F · A♭ · C · E♭ |
| iii7 | Gm7 | G · B♭ · D · F |
| IVmaj7 | A♭maj7 | A♭ · C · E♭ · G |
| V7 | B♭7 | B♭ · D · F · A♭ |
| vi7 | Cm7 | C · E♭ · G · B♭ |
| viiø7 | Dm7♭5 | D · F · A♭ · C |
Hear an original I–IV–V–I example
Arrange E♭ → A♭ → B♭ → E♭. Play each chord for the same number of beats. The return to E♭ gives you a simple way to compare the other chords against the tonic. This is a short constructed exercise, not a transcription of a song.
Then replace the V triad with B♭7. Listen separately to D, the leading tone of the key, moving to E♭, and A♭ moving down to G. These small motions are useful comparisons, not a rule that every voicing must use exactly this spacing.
A key is larger than this list
C natural minor shares the signature but has a different tonic. Music in E♭ major may also use chromatic or borrowed chords, so a chord outside the table does not automatically establish a new key. This page names the chords derived strictly from the displayed major scale.
Sources and methods
- Diatonic chords in major
- Major key signatures
- ChordLilt product contract
- Roman numerals of diatonic seventh chords