E flat major scale, notes and fingering.

The E flat major scale is Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C and D, then Eb again at the top. It has 3 flats in its key signature (Bb, Eb, Ab), and three of its seven notes are black keys. Its relative minor is C minor. In steps it goes whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, the same pattern as every major scale.

How to play E flat major on piano

1. Find Eb. Eb is the second black key of the group of two.
2. Click Right hand and Two octaves. The circles on the keyboard show the finger for each note, starting with finger 3 on Eb. 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 Eb.
5. Click One octave to see only the first eight notes, Eb to Eb, 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 Eb on Eb and Bb on Bb.
7. Open Note names. Choose Sharps or Flats to see the black keys written the other way, for example Eb as D#.

The notes, one by one

Worked example: the right hand starts on Eb4 on this page. That key is 6 semitones below A4, so on a piano tuned to A4 = 440 Hz its frequency is 440 × 2^(-6/12), which is about 311.13 Hz. The top Eb, one octave higher, doubles that to about 622.25 Hz. Counting the steps in between, 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 12 semitones. The fifth note, Bb, is 7 of them above the root.

Key signature of Eb major

Eb major has 3 flats: Bb, Eb and Ab. Flats are always added in the same order, B E A D G C F, so a signature with three flats uses the first three of them. Written once at the start of the staff, they apply to every B, E and A in the piece, in every octave.

To see why, go up from Eb by whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. The notes that land on black keys are number 1, 4 and 5 of the seven, and they are written Eb, Ab and Bb. Each letter name is used once in a scale, so the marks go on B, E and A, and the signature lists exactly those letters.

What is particular about Eb major

Eb major has three flats: Bb, Eb and Ab. Its notes are Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C and D, which run black, white, white, black, black, white, white. The right hand starts on finger 3 and the thumb crosses under straight away, on the second note. The three flats are the first three flats in the order B, E, A, D, G, C, F, and they are also the flats of its relative minor, C minor.

Fingering for both hands

The usual teaching fingering for Eb major in the right hand is 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 for the first octave, and for two octaves 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3. 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 F and C and the left thumb on G and D; 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 Eb 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 Eb major that gives Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, Bb, Cm and Ddim. The three major chords, Eb, Ab and Bb, are the ones that fit most simply together, for example in the order Eb, Ab, Bb, Eb.

A way to practise it

Practise the first two notes on their own: Eb with finger 3, then the thumb under to F. The crossing comes right at the start, so slow practice there pays off. Then play Ab and Bb with fingers 3 and 4, and the thumb on C. Add the left hand when the right hand is steady.

A common slip

Starting on the thumb. The right hand starts on finger 3, and the thumb comes in on the second note.

Nearby keys

The relative minor of Eb major is C minor. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on C. The parallel minor, Eb minor, starts on the same note but has 6 flats in its key signature.

The key a fifth higher is Bb major and the key a fifth lower is Ab major. Eb 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 A flat major and B flat 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.