E♭ major scale (D♯ major)
E♭ major scale is E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D, with E♭, A♭ and B♭. Formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
The notes, one step at a time
From E♭ upward the gaps are W W H W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between G–A♭ and D–E♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from E♭ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E♭ | root | |
| 2 | F | major second | |
| 3 | G | major third | |
| 4 | A♭ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | B♭ | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | C | major sixth | |
| 7 | D | major seventh |
What E♭ major sounds like
The major scale is the yardstick for the rest of theory: chord numbers, intervals and key signatures are all counted from it. It sounds settled and bright because every step pulls back toward E♭.
Listen for the leading tone D, a half step below E♭. Stop on it and the scale sounds unfinished until E♭ comes back.
Compared with E♭ natural minor scale, E♭ major scale has G, C and D where the other has G♭, C♭ and D♭; the other four notes are shared. Hear E♭ natural minor scale and compare.
Playing E♭ major
Keyboard players: three black (E♭, A♭ and B♭), four white.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 11th fret of the low E string and spans frets 9–15: 17 notes, low string to high.
The key of E♭ major
Songs in E♭ major are built from these notes, so the key signature has three flats (B♭, E♭, A♭). The relative minor is C minor: same notes, starting on the 6th degree. The parallel minor, E♭ natural minor, starts on the same note with different notes above it.
Chords and progressions in E♭ major
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords of the key. Tap to hear each one.
E♭ major scale shares all its notes with C natural minor (starting on the 6th note, C), D Locrian (starting on the 7th note, D), F Dorian (starting on the 2nd note, F), G Phrygian (starting on the 3rd note, G), A♭ Lydian (starting on the 4th note, A♭) and B♭ Mixolydian (starting on the 5th note, B♭). Which one you hear depends on which note the music treats as home.
Moving it around the guitar
Find E♭ first: fret 11 of the 6th string, fret 6 of the 5th. Most guitarists learn it in five overlapping positions; on the low E string they begin around frets 1, 4, 6, 8 and 11. On guitar, learn the box from the 6th-string root first; the same fingering moves anywhere.
On the piano, E♭ major scale uses 3 black keys (E♭, A♭ and B♭) and 4 white.
Thirds make the scale sound musical instead of step-by-step: E♭–G, F–A♭, G–B♭, A♭–C, B♭–D, C–E♭, D–F.
Three ways to practise E♭ major
Running a scale straight up and down only teaches the order. These patterns use the same 7 notes and train your ear and fingers to jump around inside E♭ major scale.
- Groups of three: E♭ F G · F G A♭ · G A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C · B♭ C D · C D E♭.
- Land on D: E♭ D E♭ D E♭: the 7th, a half step under the root, pulls the ear home.
Close relatives of E♭ major scale
Major scale in every key
E♭ major scale: questions
What are the notes of the E♭ major scale?
E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C and D, then E♭ again at the octave. Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.
How many sharps or flats are in the E♭ major scale?
Three: E♭, A♭ and B♭. That matches the key signature of E♭ major.
What chords are in the E♭ major scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives E♭ (I), Fm (ii), Gm (iii), A♭ (IV), B♭ (V), Cm (vi) and Ddim (vii°).
What's the difference between E♭ major scale and E♭ natural minor scale?
G, C and D in E♭ major; G♭, C♭ and D♭ in the other. Everything else is the same.
Notes and fingering generated from the scale formula and checked automatically against the step pattern. Updated September 2026.