Chords in the Key of B Major

Diatonic triads

Seventh chords

Stack one more scale tone on each triad and you get the seventh chords — same key, more color.

Common progressions in B major

• I–V–vi–IV

  B – F# – G#m – E

  The four-chord pop loop — a huge share of modern radio runs on it.

• I–IV–V

  B – E – F#

  The three-chord workhorse behind blues, folk, and early rock and roll.

• ii–V–I

  C#m – F# – B

  The jazz cadence — the strongest pull back home in the key.

• I–vi–IV–V

  B – G#m – E – F#

  The '50s doo-wop turnaround, still everywhere in ballads.

How the key of B major works

B Major carries five sharps (F#, C#, G#, D# and A#). The scale runs B–C#–D#–E–F#–G#–A#, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.

G# Minor is the relative minor: identical key signature, identical seven chords. A song that treats G#m — the vi chord here — as home base is in G# minor, even though its chord inventory matches this page exactly.

The parallel minor, B Minor, keeps the same root but flattens the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to two sharps (F# and C#). Borrowing chords across that line is where a lot of songwriting color comes from.

Playing B major on guitar

In B major, E is an open chord you can play in first position. B, C#m, D#m, F# and G#m need a barre shape or a capo. The diminished A#dim is usually played as a small three-string shape rather than a full chord.

A capo is the shortcut. With one, the I–V–vi–IV progression (B – F# – G#m – E) sounds in B major while you finger open shapes:

• Capo 4 · play it as G major

  G – D – Em – C

  4 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 2 · play it as A major

  A – E – F#m – D

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 9 · play it as D major

  D – A – Bm – G

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

Work out a capo for any song's chords

Where B major sits on the neck

The root, B, is fret 7 on the low E string and fret 2 on the A string, the two places most major barre shapes and scale positions in B major are built from.

Three open strings are in the key: low E, B and high E. Watch the open A (fret 1 gives A#), the open D (fret 1 gives D#) and the open G (fret 1 gives G#).

The open B (the root) string makes a drone you can let ring under riffs and melodies in this key.

One note separates B major from each neighbour on the circle of fifths. Raise E to E# and you are in F# major; lower A# to A and you are in E major. Those are the two keys a song in B major most often modulates to.

Songs in B major

From the song library, these recordings sound in B major:

• I'm Yours, Jason Mraz (capo 4)

Keep practicing

• Practice the B major scale on the fretboard
• Jam these progressions over a backing track
• Transpose a song into or out of B major