Chords in the Key of Eb 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 Eb major

• I–V–vi–IV

  Eb – Bb – Cm – Ab

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

• I–IV–V

  Eb – Ab – Bb

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

• ii–V–I

  Fm – Bb – Eb

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

• I–vi–IV–V

  Eb – Cm – Ab – Bb

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

How the key of Eb major works

Eb Major carries three flats (Bb, Eb and Ab). The scale runs Eb–F–G–Ab–Bb–C–D, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.

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

The parallel minor, D# Minor (listed here in its enharmonic spelling), keeps the same root but flattens the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to six sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A# and E#). Borrowing chords across that line is where a lot of songwriting color comes from.

Playing Eb major on guitar

None of the chords in Eb major is a standard open chord: Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, Bb and Cm all need barre shapes, which is why most guitarists reach for a capo in this key. The diminished Ddim 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 (Eb – Bb – Cm – Ab) sounds in Eb major while you finger open shapes:

• Capo 8 · play it as G major

  G – D – Em – C

  4 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 1 · play it as D major

  D – A – Bm – G

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 3 · play it as C major

  C – G – Am – F

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

Work out a capo for any song's chords

Where Eb major sits on the neck

The root, Eb, is fret 11 on the low E string and fret 6 on the A string, the two places most major barre shapes and scale positions in Eb major are built from.

Two open strings are in the key: D and G. Watch the open low E (fret 1 gives F), the open A (fret 1 gives Bb), the open B (fret 1 gives C) and the open high E (fret 1 gives F).

One note separates Eb major from each neighbour on the circle of fifths. Raise Ab to A and you are in Bb major; lower D to Db and you are in Ab major. Those are the two keys a song in Eb major most often modulates to.

Keep practicing

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