# C♭ Major piano chord (C♭)

C♭ contains C♭, E♭ and G♭. A major third with a perfect fifth above the root. E♭ and G♭ are black keys; C♭ is white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/major/c-flat/
- Entity: chord:major:c-flat
- Notes: C♭ E♭ G♭
- Formula: 1 3 5
- Intervals from root: P1, M3, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 4 3
- Also written: C♭, Cb, C♭ major
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | C♭ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| 3 | E♭ | Major third | 4 |
| 5 | G♭ | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on C♭, finger 3 on E♭, finger 5 on G♭. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | C♭ | C♭3 E♭4 G♭4 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (C♭/E♭) | E♭ | E♭4 G♭4 C♭4 | 6/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (C♭/G♭) | G♭ | G♭4 C♭4 E♭5 | 6/4 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | C♭3 E♭4 G♭4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | E♭4 G♭4 C♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | G♭4 C♭4 E♭5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | C♭2 G♭3 E♭4 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | C♭3 E♭4 | 4 st, 55 mm | subset | omits G♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♯ minor | ♭VII | Subtonic |
| E♭ minor | ♭VI | Pre-dominant color |
| E major | V | Dominant, wants to resolve |
| G♭ major | IV | Subdominant, away from home |
| G♯ minor | ♭III | Relative-major color |
| B major | I | Tonic, home |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (7)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ♭VII, i | C♯ minor | ♭VII | B to C♯m | C♭ opens the phrase |
| ♭VI, iv, i, v | E♭ minor | ♭VI | C♭ to A♭m to E♭m to B♭m | C♭ opens the phrase |
| i, ♭VI | E♭ minor | ♭VI | E♭m to C♭ | 2 tones held from E♭m |
| V, I | E major | V | B to E | C♭ opens the phrase |
| ii, V, I | E major | V | F♯m to B to E | 1 tone held from F♯m |
| IV, V, I | G♭ major | IV | C♭ to D♭ to G♭ | C♭ opens the phrase |
| I, IV | G♭ major | IV | G♭ to C♭ | 1 tone held from G♭ |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| C♭maj7 | 1 3 5 7 | adds B♭ | 3 |
| C♭7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | adds B♭♭ | 3 |
| C♭6 | 1 3 5 6 | adds A♭ | 3 |
| C♭add9 | 1 3 5 9 | adds D♭ | 3 |
| C♭m | 1 ♭3 5 | E♭ becomes E♭♭ | 2 |
| C♭aug | 1 3 ♯5 | G♭ becomes G | 2 |
| C♭sus2 | 1 2 5 | E♭ becomes D♭ | 2 |
| C♭sus4 | 1 4 5 | E♭ becomes F♭ | 2 |
| C♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | E♭ becomes E♭♭, B♭♭ | 2 |
| C♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | E♭ becomes E♭♭, B♭ | 2 |
| C♭aug7 | 1 3 ♯5 ♭7 | G♭ becomes G, B♭♭ | 2 |
| C♭7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | E♭ becomes F♭, B♭♭ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {11, 3, 6}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7]
- Normal order: [11, 3, 6]
- Prime form: (037)
- Forte number: 3-11
- Interval vector: <001110>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♭3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |
| E♭4 | 63 | 311.13 Hz |
| G♭4 | 66 | 369.99 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in C♭?

C♭ contains C♭, E♭ and G♭. The formula is 1, 3, 5.

### How do you play C♭ on piano?

Play C♭, E♭ and G♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. E♭ and G♭ are black keys; C♭ is white.

### What are the inversions of C♭?

3 positions: root position C♭ E♭ G♭, C♭/E♭, C♭/G♭.

### What keys contain C♭?

6: ♭VII in C♯ minor, ♭VI in E♭ minor, V in E major, IV in G♭ major, ♭III in G♯ minor, I in B major.

### What is the difference between C♭ and C♭maj7?

Adds B♭. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy C♭ for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, C♭3 E♭4, spans 4 semitones or about 55 mm.

### What are the frequencies of C♭?

From C♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 246.94, 311.13, 369.99 Hz.

### What is the set class of C♭?

Prime form (037), Forte 3-11, interval vector &lt;001110&gt;.

### How do I transpose C♭ to another key?

Keep the 1, 3, 5 formula on the new root. C is C, E, G; C♯ is C♯, E♯, G♯.

### Is B the same as C♭?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:major:c-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12