# E♭ Major piano chord (E♭)

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

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

## Construction

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

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on E♭, finger 3 on G, finger 5 on B♭. 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 | E♭ | E♭3 G3 B♭3 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (E♭/G) | G | G3 B♭3 E♭4 | 6/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Second inversion (E♭/B♭) | B♭ | B♭3 E♭4 G4 | 6/4 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | E♭3 G3 B♭3 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | G3 B♭3 E♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | B♭3 E♭4 G4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | E♭2 B♭2 G3 | 16 st, 220 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | E♭3 G3 | 4 st, 55 mm | subset | omits B♭ |

## Diatonic function by key

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

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ♭III, ♭VI, ii°, v | C minor | ♭III | E♭ to A♭ to Ddim to Gm | E♭ opens the phrase |
| i, ♭III | C minor | ♭III | Cm to E♭ | 2 tones held from Cm |
| ii, V, I | E♭ major | I | Fm to B♭ to E♭ | 1 tone held from B♭ |
| IV, I | E♭ major | I | A♭ to E♭ | 1 tone held from A♭ |
| I, vi, ii, V | E♭ major | I | E♭ to Cm to Fm to B♭ | E♭ opens the phrase |
| ♭VII, i | F minor | ♭VII | E♭ to Fm | E♭ opens the phrase |
| ♭VI, iv, i, v | G minor | ♭VI | E♭ to Cm to Gm to Dm | E♭ opens the phrase |
| i, ♭VI | G minor | ♭VI | Gm to E♭ | 2 tones held from Gm |

## One-edit neighbors

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

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {3, 7, 10}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 4, 7]
- Normal order: [3, 7, 10]
- Prime form: (037)
- Forte number: 3-11
- Interval vector: <001110>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| E♭3 | 51 | 155.56 Hz |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in E♭?

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

### How do you play E♭ on piano?

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

### What are the inversions of E♭?

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

### What keys contain E♭?

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

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

Adds D. 3 of the notes are shared.

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

The root and third only voicing, E♭3 G3, spans 4 semitones or about 55 mm.

### What are the frequencies of E♭?

From E♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 155.56, 196.00, 233.08 Hz.

### What is the set class of E♭?

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

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

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

### Is D♯ the same as E♭?

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:e-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12