The Key of E♭ Major for Guitar

Chords in E♭ major, with notes

Seventh chords in E♭ major

Add the next scale note a third above each triad and you get the four-note seventh chords of the key.

Shapes and voicings for every chord: chord directory.

Why E♭ major has 3 flats (B♭ E♭ A♭)

Every major scale uses the same step pattern: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Start that pattern on E♭ and the notes land on E♭ F G A♭ B♭ C D, so the key needs B♭, E♭ and A♭. On one string a whole step is two frets and a half step is one fret, up to the octave at fret 12.

E♭ major scale in first position

Every note of E♭ major in frets 0 to 4. Play one finger per fret: fret 1 = finger 1, fret 2 = finger 2, fret 3 = finger 3, fret 4 = finger 4, open strings need no finger.

Tap a dot to hear it. High e on top; the brightest dot is the root.

Past fret 4: E♭ major scale in every position up the neck, with play-along and a root drone. Pentatonic, blues and the modes work over these chords too: see all guitar scales.

Playing in E♭ on guitar

In standard tuning E♭ has no open chords, and only two of the six open strings, D and G, are in the scale. E♭ is the A-shape barre at fret 6, A♭ the E-shape barre at fret 4, B♭ the A-shape barre at fret 1. Its enharmonic twin, D♯ major, would need nine sharps, including the double sharps F𝄪 and C𝄪, so the key is always written as E♭.

Many players tune every string down a half step instead: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭. The open E shapes then sound as E♭, so riffs and chords written for E work unchanged, and the lower string tension makes bends easier. Remember that a tuner then reads E♭, not E, for the low string.

In standard tuning, capo 3 with C shapes is the simplest way to strum in E♭, and capo 1 with D shapes gives a brighter sound with the drone strings of D.

For the V chord, B♭7 (x 1 3 1 3 1) is the A-shape barre at fret 1 with the seventh, A♭, on the G string, and it pulls hard back to E♭. Fm (1 3 3 1 1 1) sits on the same fret and the four-string E♭ (x x 1 3 4 3) just above it, so the whole ii–V–I Fm B♭7 E♭ stays within frets 1 to 4.

Common progressions in E♭ major

Pick one in the player above and press Play to strum along, four beats per chord.

Capo and E♭ major

Capo 1 with D shapes, capo 3 with C shapes and capo 6 with A shapes all sound in E♭. Without a capo, tuning down a half step and playing E shapes gives the same key with open strings.

Song in another key? Capo for E♭ major songs: the capo fret and easier shapes, or any other key.

New to the capo? How to use a capo: where to clamp it and why the same shapes sound in a new key.

Relative minor: C minor

C minor uses the same seven notes, starting on C, the 6th note of the scale. Its chord is the vi in the row above. Songs often move between the two keys without changing a single chord shape.

Have a recording and no idea what key it is in? Find the key of a song from the audio file or by letting it listen; it also gives the chords to play and the easiest capo.

Related keys

• The key of C minorrelative
• The key of E♭ minorparallel
• The key of A♭ majorcircle, one step left
• The key of B♭ majorcircle, one step right

See how every key connects: interactive circle of fifths.

Next steps in E♭ major

• Progressions in E♭ majorgenerate, hear and loop chord progressions in this key
• E♭ major pentatonicfive notes for melodies and fills
• Half step down (E♭)standard E shapes sound in E♭
• Guitar tunertune up before you play along