Chords in the Key of B Major

What are the chords in B major?

Take the B major scale — B C# D# E F# G# A# — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• B — I, major, built on B
• C#m — ii, minor, built on C#
• D#m — iii, minor, built on D#
• E — IV, major, built on E
• F# — V, major, built on F#
• G#m — vi, minor, built on G#
• A#dim — vii°, diminished, built on A#

The pattern of qualities is the same in every major key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

B, E and F# — the I, IV and V — carry most songs in B major. Add G#m (the vi, the relative minor) and you have the four chords behind a large share of popular music.

• Pop Anthem — 1–5–6m–4 — B – F# – G#m – E. Heard in Let It Be (verse), Don't Stop Believin'.
• Rock / Country / Blues Backbone — 1–4–5 — B – E – F#. Heard in Wild Thing, Twist and Shout.
• 50s / Doo-Wop — 1–6m–4–5 — B – G#m – E – F#. Heard in Stand By Me, Earth Angel.
• Rhythm Changes Turnaround — 1–6m–2m–5 — B – G#m – C#m – F#. Heard in I Got Rhythm, Heart and Soul (original).

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of B major: Bmaj7, C#m7, D#m7, Emaj7, F#7, G#m7, A#m7♭5. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The V as a dominant seventh (F#7) is the one that pulls hardest back to B.

B major and G# minor share every chord

G# minor uses the same seven notes as B major, so it has the same seven chords — the relative minor. What changes is which chord is home: B in B major, G#m in G# minor. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of G# minor, with their own numerals
• The B major scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of B major

1. Play B – E – F# – B slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of B major fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.