B major chord on piano
Find the B major notes, inspect their piano positions, and compare inversions with an audible reference.
Select a key to hear its pitch. Use Tab to reach keys and Enter or Space to play them.
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Compare another chord
C Minor
C4 · E♭4 · G4
Notes and intervals
| Degree | Notes | Semitones |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B4 | 0 |
| 3 | D♯5 | 4 |
| 5 | F♯5 | 7 |
The notes and their roles
B major contains B, D♯ and F♯. From the root, the semitone offsets are 0, 4, 7. The degree formula 1, 3, 5 describes each member relative to the root, not its order in a particular voicing.
| Note | Role | Semitones above root |
|---|---|---|
| B | Root | 0 |
| D♯ | Major third | 4 |
| F♯ | Perfect fifth | 7 |
Read this shape accurately
D-sharp and F-sharp complete the B triad. Both black keys belong to the chord for different reasons: D-sharp is its third and F-sharp is its fifth.
Change only the third
Hold B and F♯ steady. Lower D♯ by one semitone to D and the quality changes to minor. The root and perfect fifth do not change. This isolates the interval that distinguishes the two triads.
Choose a bass note
The root-position octave example is B4 · D♯5 · F♯5. Inversions put a different member in the bass while retaining B as the root. The table gives pitch-class order; move the leading notes up an octave as needed to keep each example ascending.
| Position | Notes from the bass | Bass |
|---|---|---|
| Root position | B · D♯ · F♯ | B |
| First inversion | D♯ · F♯ · B | D♯ |
| Second inversion | F♯ · B · D♯ | F♯ |
A short listening check
Play B major together, then as separate notes. Name the major third before looking at the display. Repeat in first inversion and check that D♯ is the bass while B remains the root.
- Choose the displayed root and quality in the chord explorer.
- Compare root position with one inversion at the same tempo.
- Save both examples in a named practice collection, or export a reference with note names.
Sources and methods
- Open Music Theory: Triads
- Enharmonic notes
- ChordLilt product contract
- Inverted triads