B Major Scale - A Detailed Guide To The Key Of B Major (2024)

Learning piano scales is about much more than sharpening your technique. Through scales, you can better understand keys and chord progressions. And from there, you’ll be better equipped to improvise and write music. Today, we’ll take a look at the B major scale.

A Quick Introduction to the B Major Scale

B major may not be one of the most common key signatures, but more popular songs than you realize are written in B. The key of B major has been described as being full of color, wild, passionate, and even full of jealousy or anger. Although it’s considered to have an “upbeat” sound like most major keys, B major is quite emotionally complex.

This key isn’t too common in the classical world. Haydn’s Symphony No. 46 is one of the relatively few major symphonies in B major. The “Flower Duet” from the opera Lakmé is also in B.

Structure and Formula of the B Major Scale

You likely already know the formula of whole and half steps you need to follow to devise a major scale. Starting with the root note, you just follow the formula W-W-H-W-W-W-H, where each W indicates a whole step (also called a whole tone) and each H indicates a half step (also called a half tone). When we do this starting at B, we get these seven notes:

B C# D# E F# G# A#

As you can see, the scale has five sharps! Its key signature will have five sharp symbols on the staff. These symbols will be positioned where the notes C, D, F, G, and A typically are.

The large number of sharps in the B major scale might make it seem hard to play. But because the black keys seem to line up naturally with the fingers, Chopin actually regarded this one as the easiest to play of all the scales!

Each of the scale’s note names also has a scale degree name:

  • 1. B (Tonic, or root note)
  • 2. C# (Supertonic)
  • 3. D# (Mediant)
  • 4. E (Subdominant)
  • 5. F# (Dominant)
  • 6. G# (Submediant)
  • 7. A# (Leading Tone)

How to Play and Learn the B Major Scale on Piano

When mastering any scale on the piano, consistent practice is critically important. Be sure to master the correct fingerings early on! Here’s how o play it with both your right hand and left hand.

Right Hand:

  • First, find B on the keyboard. It’s the white key to the left of C. Play it with your thumb.
  • Then play C# (the first black key to the right of B) with your index finger.
  • Now play D# (the black key to the right of C#) with your middle finger.
  • Next, cross your thumb under your fingers to play E (the white key to the right of D#).
  • Then play F# (the first black key to the right of E) with your index finger.
  • Now play G# (the next black key) with your middle finger.
  • Next, play A# (the next black key) with your ring finger.
  • Finally, play B (the white key to the right of A#) with your pinky.

Left Hand:

  • Start by playing B with your ring finger.
  • Then play C# with your middle finger.
  • Next, play D# with your index finger.
  • Now play E with your thumb.
  • Next, cross your fingers over your thumb and play F# with your ring finger.
  • Then play G# with your middle finger.
  • Now play A# with your index finger.
  • Finally, play B with your thumb.

As you practice, be sure to use the same fingerings for both ascending and descending scales. Using a metronome can help you master playing in time: start at a slow tempo and gradually increase it. Play one octave at a time, and then add an octave higher as you get more comfortable. This video lesson does a good job of taking you through the scale.

Relative and Parallel Scales

As you learn more piano scales, you’ll start to get a feel for how they relate to one another. One helpful relationship to know is that of relative major and minor scales. Each major scale has a relative minor scale. These relative scales include the same notes (but in a different order). The relative minor scale of B major is G#m (G#-A#-B-C#-D#-E-F#).

Parallel scales share the same first note (or root note). The B minor scale is the parallel scale of the B major scale, as both scales start with B.

Chords of the Scale and Their Scale Degrees

If you want to start writing music in the key of B, it can be helpful to know what chords are in the key. We can figure this out by labeling each of the scale degrees with a Roman numeral using the pattern I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-vii°. The uppercase numerals stand for major chords, the lowercase ones stand for minor chords, and the “°” symbol indicates a diminished chord.

Using this pattern, we can see that the individual notes of the scale each have a corresponding chord:

  • I. B major (B)
  • ii. C# minor (C#m)
  • iii. D# minor (D#m)
  • IV. E major (E)
  • V. F# major (F#)
  • vi. G# minor (G#m)
  • vii°. A# diminished (A#dim)

When you know which keys correspond to which Roman numerals, you can quickly and easily transpose any song into the key of B major. This numbering system is called the Nashville Number system, and this video will show you how to use it to transpose music.

Songs in The Key

If you want to really understand the mood and feel of the key of B major, check out some of these popular songs in B:

  • 1. “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz
  • 2. “The Tide is High” by Blondie
  • 3. “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode
  • 4. “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles
  • 5. “The Only Living Boy in New York” by Simon & Garfunkel
  • 6. “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton
  • 7. “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls
  • 8. “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette
  • 9. “Breed” by Nirvana
  • 10. “Inside Out” by Eve 6

Common Chord Progression

If you write your own music, you might want to check out some example chord progressions in the key of B. The Jason Mraz hit “I’m Yours” uses a I-V-vi-IV (B-F#-G#m-E) progression. “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls follows a V-vi-IV-I (F#-G#m7-E-B) progression. And most of “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette uses a V-vi-V-I (F#-G#m7-F#-B) progression.

Of course, these aren’t the only common progressions used in the key. I-IV-V (B-E-F#), I-vi-IV-V (B-G#m-E-F#), and ii-V-I (C#m7-F#7-Bmaj7) are great examples as well. Feel free to experiment with variations on your more typical chords. It’s a great way to give any song some character!

Final Thoughts

Though it isn’t one of the most common keys used in Western music, B major can help you create strong and memorable tracks. And when you take your time and master the B major scale and the music theory behind it, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a better piano player. Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and please like and share if you found this article useful!

B Major Scale - A Detailed Guide To The Key Of B Major (2024)

FAQs

B Major Scale - A Detailed Guide To The Key Of B Major? ›

The scale of B major starts on B and has five sharps in its key signature

key signature
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (♯), flat (♭), or rarely, natural (♮) symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef at the beginning of the first line.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Key_signature
. The notes of the B major scale are B – C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A#.

What is the key of the B Major scale? ›

The notes of the B Major scale are B C# D# E F# G# A#. It's key signature has 5 sharps. Press play to listen to the scale.

What are the three chords in the key of B? ›

triad chords in the Key of B Major
Iiiiii
B B-D♯-F♯ 1-3-5C♯m C♯-E-G♯ 1-♭3-5D♯m D♯-F♯-A♯ 1-♭3-5

How do you construct the scale of B Major? ›

To form the B major scale, you start on B, move one whole step to C#, a whole step to D#, a half step to E, a whole step to F#, a whole step to G#, a whole step to A# and a half step to B.

What key is similar to B Major? ›

B major's relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equivalent is C-flat major.

What is the dominant in B major? ›

Dominant – F-sharp major. Submediant – G-sharp minor. Leading-tone – A-sharp diminished.

What is the dominant triad in the key of B major? ›

The B major triad consists of a root (B), third (D♯), and fifth (F♯). The distance between the root and the third is a major third interval (or four half-steps), and the distance between the third and the fifth is a minor third interval (or three half-steps). Major triads have a “happy” sound.

What are the 7th chords in the key of B? ›

In B major, the major seventh is B, D#, F#, and A#. In B minor, the minor seventh chord is B, D, F#, and A.

What are the 4 chords in the key of B? ›

The triad chords in this key are B major, C# minor, D# minor, E major, F# major, G# minor, and A# diminished. The four note chords are B major seventh, C# minor seventh, D# minor seventh, E major seventh, F# dominant seventh, G# minor seventh, and A# minor seventh flat five.

What is the diatonic scale of B major? ›

B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B are the notes of the B major scale. Diatonic chords are formed by stacking two generic third notes above each scale note.

What is the step formula for major scale? ›

The major scale follows the formula "whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half" or WWHWWWH. Beginning on the note C and following this pattern gives us C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.

How many flats are in B major? ›

It's key signature has 2 flats.

Is B major flat or sharp? ›

Key Signatures
Key Sig.Major KeyMinor Key
4 sharpsE majorC# minor
5 sharpsB majorG# minor
6 sharpsF# majorD# minor
7 sharpsC# majorA# minor
3 more rows
Apr 19, 2023

What is the difference between B major and B minor? ›

The B major scale contains seven notes and starts and ends on B. Major scales are arranged in a specific pattern of whole and half steps: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. The B natural minor scale follows the key signature of its relative major: D major. In natural minor scales, there are no additional accidentals.

Is B flat major A happy key? ›

Don't Worry, B Happy

Personalities, almost. The composer Schubert wrote a book about this, in which he characterized B Flat Major as ”Cheerful love, clear conscience, hope aspiration for a better world”.

What is the key signature of the BB major scale? ›

The notes of the Bb Major scale are Bb C D Eb F G A. It's key signature has 2 flats.

Is B-sharp A real note? ›

The musical note B-sharp is the note a half step above B. In music notation, B-sharp is written by adding a sharp sign (♯) to the note B. On a piano, B-sharp is located on the white key to the left of each group of two black keys. You need to enable JavaScript to use the note finder.

What is the key signature of the B minor scale? ›

B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. Audio playback is not supported in your browser.

What is the B Major and minor scale? ›

The B major scale contains seven notes and starts and ends on B. Major scales are arranged in a specific pattern of whole and half steps: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. The B natural minor scale follows the key signature of its relative major: D major. In natural minor scales, there are no additional accidentals.

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