B flat major scale, notes and fingering.

The B flat major scale is Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G and A, then Bb again at the top. It has 2 flats in its key signature (Bb, Eb), and two of its seven notes are black keys. Its relative minor is G minor. In steps it goes whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, the same pattern as every major scale.

How to play B flat major on piano

1. Find Bb. Bb is the third black key of the group of three, the one just left of B.
2. Click Right hand and Two octaves. The circles on the keyboard show the finger for each note, starting with finger 4 on Bb. Finger 1 is the thumb.
3. Press Play scale to hear the scale go up and come back down. Up plays only the way up and Down only the way down. Change Speed if it is too quick.
4. Click Left hand. The left hand plays one octave lower and starts with finger 3 on Bb.
5. Click One octave to see only the first eight notes, Bb to Bb, with the fingers for that run.
6. Under the keyboard, Play on a chord card plays the three-note chord built on that note, such as Bb on Bb and F on F.
7. Open Note names. Choose Sharps or Flats to see the black keys written the other way, for example Bb as A#.

The notes, one by one

Worked example: the right hand starts on Bb3 on this page. That key is 11 semitones below A4, so on a piano tuned to A4 = 440 Hz its frequency is 440 × 2^(-11/12), which is about 233.08 Hz. The top Bb, one octave higher, doubles that to about 466.16 Hz. Counting the steps in between, 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 12 semitones. The fifth note, F, is 7 of them above the root.

Key signature of Bb major

Bb major has 2 flats: Bb and Eb. Flats are always added in the same order, B E A D G C F, so a signature with two flats uses the first two of them. Written once at the start of the staff, they apply to every B and E in the piece, in every octave.

To see why, go up from Bb by whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. The notes that land on black keys are number 1 and 4 of the seven, and they are written Bb and Eb. Each letter name is used once in a scale, so the marks go on B and E, and the signature lists exactly those letters.

What is particular about Bb major

Bb major has two flats: Bb and Eb. Its notes are Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G and A, so only the first and fourth notes are black keys, and the rest are white. The right hand starts on finger 4 and the thumb lands on C, the second note. The left hand starts on finger 3, which is a different place to begin than in the keys with sharps.

Fingering for both hands

The usual teaching fingering for Bb major in the right hand is 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 for the first octave, and for two octaves 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4. In the left hand it is 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 for the first octave, and for two octaves 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3. The right thumb lands on C and F and the left thumb on D and A; all of those are white keys. Coming down, use the same fingers in reverse order. Other fingerings exist, and a teacher may change them to suit your hand, so treat this as the standard starting point.

Chords in Bb major

Stack every other note of the scale and you get a three-note chord on each degree. In every major key the pattern is the same: major on I, IV and V, minor on ii, iii and vi, and diminished on vii. In Bb major that gives Bb, Cm, Dm, Eb, F, Gm and Adim. The three major chords, Bb, Eb and F, are the ones that fit most simply together, for example in the order Bb, Eb, F, Bb.

A way to practise it

Say the right hand fingering aloud before you play: 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4. The scale starts on the ring finger and the thumb lands on C and F. Then do the left hand, which goes 3 2 1 4 3 2 1 3 and puts the thumb on D and A.

A common slip

Playing B instead of Bb. The scale then sounds sharp from the first note, since the root is the black key a half step below B.

Nearby keys

The relative minor of Bb major is G minor. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on G. The parallel minor, Bb minor, starts on the same note but has 5 flats in its key signature.

The key a fifth higher is F major and the key a fifth lower is Eb major. Bb major shares all but one note with each of them. Keys next to each other on the circle of fifths have signatures that differ by one mark. On this site the neighbours here are E flat major and F major.

When the scale is steady, play it with the metronome and compare it with the virtual piano. For other scale types, such as minor, modes and pentatonic, use the scale finder.