Julie Swihart

Major Key Chords

Let’s look at how to find chords for the key of B major. You can use the chords for the key of B major to create chord progressions and play creatively in the key of B.

How to Find Chords for B Major

To find the chords for B major, we first need to build a B major scale (learn how to build a major scale here).

The notes of a B major scale are:

B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B

Now we’ll build a “1 – 3 – 5” chord off each note of the scale, using only the notes of the scale to build the chords.

So starting on B, we’ll count “1 – 3 – 5” to build our first chord. When we do this, we get our first chord: B – D♯ – F♯

Then we’ll start on C♯ and do the same thing. We’ll build a “1 – 3 – 5” chord using only the notes of the scale. When we do, we get: C♯ – E – G♯

Next we’ll start on D♯, and using only the notes of the scale, we’ll build another “1 – 3 – 5” chord: D♯ – F♯ – A♯

We can continue following this pattern, building a chord off each note of the B major scale, and using only the notes of the scale to build the chords.

Chords for Major Keys Printable

This 20-page PDF will help you learn the chords for every major key! Use these chords to build chord progressions and play creatively.

Get the Printable

Chords for the Key of B Major

Here are the chords for the key of B major:

B – D♯ – F♯ = B major chord

C♯ – E – G♯ = C minor chord

D♯ – F♯ – A♯ = D♯ minor chord

E – G♯ – B = E major chord

F♯ – A♯ – C♯ = F♯ major chord

G♯ – B – D♯ = G♯ minor chord

A♯ – C♯ – E = A♯ diminished chord

Other Major Key Chords

You can find chords for the other major keys below:

C Major Chords
G Major Chords
D Major Chords
A Major Chords
E Major Chords
F Sharp Major Chords
C Sharp Major Chords
F Major Chords
B Flat Major Chords
E Flat Major Chords
A Flat Major Chords
D Flat Major Chords
G Flat Major Chords
C Flat Major Chords

Enharmonic Keys

Some keys are considered “enharmonic”. This means they use the same notes on the piano, but can go by two different names.

The key of B major is enharmonic with C flat major, because these two keys use the same notes on the piano, but are labeled differently.

There are six total enharmonic keys:

B major and C flat major
F sharp major and G flat major
C sharp major and D flat major

To understand these relationships better, take a look at the circle of fifths.

How to Label the Chords

There are four different types of “1 – 3 – 5” chords:

Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished

The difference between these types depends on the intervals used to build the chords (you can learn all about piano intervals here).

But to summarize:

Major chords are built using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale.

Minor chords are major chords with the middle note lowered 1/2 step.

Augmented chords are major chords with the upper-note raised 1/2 step.

Diminished chords are minor chords with the upper-note lowered 1/2 step.

When we build a chord off each note of the major scale, using only the notes of the scale to build the chords, we’ll always get these chord types in this order:

Major
Minor
Minor
Major
Major
Minor
Diminished

You can use this pattern to find the chords for any major key!

Primary Chords for the Key of B Major

Each major key has three chords called “primary” chords. We can find the primary chords for a major key by building a chord off the first, fourth and fifth notes of the matching major scale.

The primary chords for B major are:

B major
E major
F♯ major

We’ll use these chords often when playing in the key of B major.

Conclusion

Now you know how to find the chords for the key of B major on the piano, and you can use that knowledge to find the chords for any major key!

Using chords is a wonderful way to learn the piano, because chords create so many possibilities!