B Major Scale On Piano

Triad Chords In The Key Of Bb

Did you know a chord can also be built off of EVERY note in the Bb scale? Thats right! It is a great exercise to practice finding these chords in each key. For Bb it is pretty easy since there are only 2 flats to keep track of.

Chord I: Bb major

Chord ii: C minor

Chord iii: D minor

Chord IV: Eb major

Chord V: F major

Chord vi: G minor

Chord vii: A diminished

Building A Major Scale

There are several ways of building a major scale like those weve discussed so far. One way is to take advantage of the fact that every major scale follows the same pattern of whole steps and half steps.

Lets say you were asked to build an Ab-major scale . A good place to start would be to write Ab on the staff:

Note: When writing music on a staff, accidentals are always placed to the left of the note theyre applied to, as in Example 68. When referring to them in written proseas in the text of this chapterthey are written as you would say them out loud, with the accidental coming just after the pitch-letter name: Ab major.

Since the major scale uses each of the pitch-letter names only once before reaching the tonic note again, we can fill in the rest of the noteheads to help ensure that were spelling the scale correctly. Dont worry about accidentals yetthose will come in the next step.

As weve seen, every major scale follows the same pattern of whole steps and half steps. You may find it helpful at first to write the pattern above or below your scale:

Activity 64

In each of the following exercises, you will be given the keynote of a major scale. Fill in the remaining seven scale degrees .

B Major Scale On Piano & Guitar + Chords In The Key Of B Major

Here’s a beautifulB major scale reference which shows the notes and finger position on the piano keyboard. You’ll also find the intervals and scale degrees that make up the B major scale. Plus, an interactive tool to playB major diatonic chords and a list of commonchord progressions in the key of B major. You’ll also find theB major scale on the guitar fretboard, with the notes, intervals or scale degrees, plus a way to highlight the scale at different positions on the fretboard using the CAGED system or the Three Notes Per String system. The C major scale is enharmonic to the B major scale. It has the same pitches, but uses different notes names:C D E F G A B.

The notes of the B major scale are B, C, D, E, F, G and A The relative minor of the B major scale isG minor

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What Is The Relative Minor Of The B Major Scale

As you can see from the circle of fifths below, G sharp minor is the relative minor scale or B Major. This means that G sharp minor has the same 5 sharps as B major, but it start and ends on a G sharp.

Circle of Fifths showing B Major and G Sharp Minor

Learn more about Minor Scales with our complete guide.

How Is The B Major Scale Created

All Major scales follow a specific pattern of tones and semitones . The tone pattern is:

Tone, Tone, Semi-tone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semi-tone

If we take the start at a C and follow the pattern we will get the C Major Scale. To create the B Major scale, follow the tone/semitone pattern starting on the note B.

Whichever note you start on, you will always achieve the major scale starting on this note.

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How To Play The B Scale On The Piano

To play the B scale on the piano, press down each note shown in the diagram above, starting with the B on the far left and working your way to the B on the far right. Each note should be played as its own distinct note, yet still connected .

Pay very close attention to the fingering. The right hand is the same as the other white key scales, but the left hand is not.

Because the left hand is so different, I thought I would walk you through it step by step.

For the new left hand, start with your FOURTH FINGER on B. I know this will feel very strange, but it is the correct method. Press down on B with finger 4, then play C# with your 3, D# with your 2, and E with your 1.

Now it is time to cross. Cross your FOURTH FINGER over your thumb and onto F#. After this, reposition your hand and play your 3 on G#, 2 on A#, and 1 on B to end.

And there youve made it up a B scale with a weird left hand fingering! Practice this several times utnil you get used it.

If youre wondering if theres a reason behind this fingering, there IS. If you try playing the L.H. B scale normally, youll see that it just doesnt work. The placement of the notes with more sharps simply keeps the normal fingering from working.

So, this is what we get instead. Think of it as two groups of 4 in the left hand. This is what has helped me the most.

How To Build A Major Scale

Major scales are built using a pattern of half-steps and whole steps.

A half-step is the distance from one note to the very next, whether black or white.

A whole step is the distance from any key, to two away, whether black or white. A whole step is the same as two half-steps.

Major scales are named after their starting note, so a B major scale will start on a B.

To build a major scale, find your starting note, then use this pattern of half and whole steps to build the scale :

W W H W W W H

It may be helpful to think of this pattern as two sets of W W H, joined by a whole step.

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How Do You Write A B

Thats a great question! You can write a Bb major scale in 1 of two ways. The first way is to copy down the scale from the diagram I showed you earlierwriting each note in succession, with the relevant flats next to them.

The second way is to write the key signature on the far left, and then write the notes on the staff without accidentals.

Either way works! So grab some sheet music and a pencil, and you can get started! It is a great idea to practice not only playing your scales but notating them as well.

What Is The Bb Scale In Piano

The Bb scale, simply put, is a major scale that both starts and ends on the note B flat. It follows the typical pattern of half steps and whole steps that builds a major scale. Following this pattern starting on Bb, we get a scale with 2 black notes and 5 white notes. It is the black key scale with the LEAST amount of black notes.

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The B Major Scale: The Complete Guide

The B Major scale contains 7 notes: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#

B Major Scale

You might see the scale written as starting and ending on a B and this can give the scale a complete sound. The scale can also be repeating at higher or lower octaves and technically goes on forever.

B Major is a diatonic scale, which means that it is in a key, in this case the key of B!

Piano Chords In The Key Of B Major

Heres a diagram showing basic chords in B major.

So what are the notes of the triad and four note chords in this key?

• Chord I, B major consists of the notes, B D# F#, while B major seventh consists of the notes, B D# F# A#.
• Chord ii, C sharp minor consists of the notes, C# E G#. C# minor seventh consists of the notes, C# E G# B.
• Chord iii, D# minor contains the notes, D# F# A#. D# minor seventh contains the notes, D# F# A# C#.
• Chord IV, E major contains the notes, E G# B. E major seventh contains the notes, E G# B D#.
• Chord V, F sharp major contains the notes, F# A# C#. F# dominant seventh contains the notes, F# A# C# E.
• Chord vi, G# minor consists of the notes, G# B D#. G# minor seventh consists of the note, G# B D# F#.
• Lastly, chord vii°, A# diminished consists of the notes, A# C# E, while A# minor seventh flat five consists of the notes, A# C# E G#.

Common chord progressions in the key of B major are as follows:

• I vi IV V

The following is a diagram of the B major key signature and the notes of the B major scale on the treble and bass clefs. This scale has 5 sharps, namely, C#, D#, F#, G# and A#.

Heres a diagram showing the B major scale on piano.

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How To Build A B Major Scale

So to build a B major scale, well start on B. If youre not sure how to label the notes of the piano, start here.

Starting on a B, well find the note one whole step up, which is C. Then well find the note one whole-step up from C, which is D. Then well find the note one half-step up from D, which is E. We can continue this pattern until we reach B, and the scale is complete.

Scales To Learn Next:

Congratulations, you can now play all of your piano scales! You are doing such a great job. While you dont have any more scales to play, there are a few more scales you can learn about from a mental standpoint: the enharmonic equivalents to the scales you already know.

Think scales like C# major, D# major, and Gb major. All of these have the same notes as Db, Eb, and F#, but they are spelled differently

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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 and each H indicates a half step . 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 scales note names also has a scale degree name:

How To Practice Scales

Scales are the building blocks of music. Learning scales will allow you to more quickly read notes within a key signature and to feel more comfortable playing these combinations of fingerings.

Here is a simple process for learning a new scale:

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Playing Both Hands Together

Once youve practiced both hands separately, its time to play the two hands simultaneously. Theres no particular trick to this it just takes time to get used to it.

Scales are generally played with the hands one octave that is, eight white notes apart.

Start slowly, concentrating on fingering and playing each pair of notes at the same time, and gradually build up the speed. Ensure the scale maintains a regular rhythm.

How To Play The Bb Scale On The Piano

To play the B flat scale on the piano, press down each note shown in the diagram above, starting with the Bb on the far left and working your way to the Bb on the far right. Each note should be played as its own distinct note, yet still connected .

As far as fingering goes, Bb has its easier and more tricky parts. The left hand is the easy partthe fingering is the same as most of the other black key scales

For the right hand, youre going to start with your 3 on Bb, and then immediately cross your 1 under to C. Reposition your hand and play 2 on D and 3 on Eb. Now that were on another black key, we have to cross again. Tuck your thumb under and play 1 on F, 2 on G, 3 on A, and finally, 4 on Bb.

And there you made it all the way up the Bb scale! Make sure you practice each hand separately well before you try putting hands together.

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Learn How To Play The B Major Scale On Piano

Now I’m going to teach you the B Major scale. First let’s take a look at the notes that make up the scale. Those notes are B, C sharp, D sharp, E, F sharp, G sharp, A sharp, and back to B. Now let’s take a look at the fingering for the scale.

Starting with the right hand, play the B key with your thumb. When your third finger gets to the D sharp, bring your thumb under to hit the E. Now make your way up the scale with your pinky landing on final B. On the way back down, just do the opposite. When your thumb gets back to the E, cross your third finger over and finish walking back down the scale.

The left hand starts on the B with the fourth finger. When your thumb hits the E, cross over and hit the F sharp with your fourth finger. On the way back down reverse the process, crossing your thumb under when your fourth finger get to the F sharp.

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B Tonic Note And One Octave Of Notes

The numbered notes are those that might be used when building this note scale.

But since this is a scale in the key of B, it is certain that notes 1 and 13 will be used in the scale.

Note 1 is the tonic note – the starting note – B, and note 13 is the same note name but one octave higher.

Treble Clef

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Labeling The Notes Of The Scale

You may be wondering how we decide to label the C as a C and not a D, or why we label the D as a D and not E .

Since the notes of a major scale must progress in alphabetical order, the first note of the B major scale is B, the next note will be some kind of C, the next note will be some kind of D, and so on.

How To Build A B Flat Major Scale

To build a B flat major scale, well start on a B. If youre not sure how to label the notes of the piano, start here.

Then well use the pattern of whole and half-steps to build the scale. Starting on a B, well play the note one whole step up, which is C. Then well play the note one whole step up from C, which is D. Next, well play the note one half-step up from D, which is E.

We can continue this pattern of whole and half-steps until we reach the next B, and the scale is complete.

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