B
How to play the B Major Chord on your piano or keyboard
From the chord symbol B we get the following information:
- The B chord has the note B as root note
- The B chord is a 3-note chord (a triad)
- The B chord is a major chord
Because B is a 3-note chord it also has 3 inversions:
- Root inversion
- 1st. inversion
- 2nd. inversion
B chord – Root inversion (basic inversion) looks like this: B – D# – F#
B chord – 1st. inversion (root note at the top of the chord): D# – F# – B
B chord – 2nd. inversion (root note in the middle of the chord): F# – B – D#
B chord – fingering:
Root inversion:
| Finger | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Note | B | D# | F# |
1st. inversion:
| Finger | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Note | D# | F# | B |
2nd. inversion:
| Finger | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Note | F# | B | D# |
B chord – Closely related scales and harmonic functions:
The B chord is the 1st. step in the B major scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | B | C#m | D#m | E | F# | G#m | A#m(b5) |
The B chord is the 4th. step in the F# major scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | F# | G#m | A#m | B | C# | D#m | E#m(b5) |
The B chord is the 5th. step in the E major scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | E | F#m | G#m | A | B | C#m | D#m(b5) |
The B chord is the 3rd. step in the G# minor scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | G#m | A#m(b5) | B | C#m | D#m | E | F# |