This has the effect of changing which note is at the root of the chord. It can seem a bit confusing, at first, but it’s super useful when you get your head around it!Īs discussed earlier, ‘inversions’ are ways of playing the same chord but with one or more of the same notes played in a different octave.

You can choose which ‘version’ of the chord to play. The lower F is one whole octave below the higher one.ĭo you see that this is an example of the same chord with one note played in a different octave? This is a ‘version’ of the root chord – or, as we call it in music theory, an ‘Inversion’. F is 7 semitones up from B♭, and therefore 5 semitones down from it, too. Remember that an octave is made up of 12 semitones? In the chord of B♭, the fifth is F. Progressions as you know the chords in the scale will sound ‘correct’ even when played on top of one another. These are ‘relative’ keys – very useful when writing chord Major, and is positioned next to 6B = G Minor. Look at the lower left side of the wheel. The outer ring has the Major chords, the inner ring has Minors. The ‘Camelot’ Wheel) you’ll be familiar with the way chords ‘connect’ based on their position on the wheel. If you’ve ever seen the Mixed in Key Harmonic Regardless of scale, the 1st and 5th together always signify which chord is being played.Įvery Major chord has a relative Minor chord that complements it. The 1st and 5th notes are the over-arching chord tones. The middle note, or third, is what signifies whether a chord is Major or Minor. So, we can count five keys (or 3 whole notes) up from B Flat to reach the third – D. On a piano, a semi-tone step is simply a key up or down from the current key.

We call this note the ‘third’ because it is three whole notes from the root, B Flat. In B Flat Major, the middle note is 5 semitones above the root. The number of semitones between each note varies if the chord is Major or Minor. Starting from the root, triad chords contain 2 additional chord tones. We already have the Root, third and fifth present in the basic triad. These additional notes are called ‘chord tones’. You can add notes, or ‘complexity’ to this B Flat Major triad and increase the polyphony. The basic triad of B Flat Major looks like this: Chord Learn how to use the chord and key of B Flat Major with our guide! It’s one of the most common chords in modern music and the root key of many smash-hit songs. The chord and key of B Flat Major (and how to use it in your songs).

B flat major scale degree numbers