Chords in the key of Bb major
The seven chords that live in Bb major, what each one is doing, and the progressions songwriters build from them.
| Numeral | Chord | Quality | Feels like |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Bb | major | home |
| ii | Cm | minor | away |
| iii | Dm | minor | home |
| IV | Eb | major | away |
| V | F | major | pulls home |
| vi | Gm | minor | home |
| vii° | Adim | diminished | pulls home |
Progressions that work in Bb major
The four-chord loop
Bb F Gm Eb
I – V – vi – IV
The pop workhorse; hundreds of hits run on exactly this loop.
Three-chord classic
Bb Eb F
I – IV – V
Folk, blues, country, punk: the whole song in three chords.
The doo-wop turn
Bb Gm Eb F
I – vi – IV – V
The 50s progression; instant nostalgia, still everywhere in ballads.
Jazz turnaround
Cm F Bb
ii – V – I
ii–V–I: the strongest way home a key has. Add 7ths for the full flavor.
How to use this key
Every key is the same machine with different letters. Three of these chords feel like home (Bb, Dm, Gm), two lean away (Cm, Eb), and two pull back toward home (F, Adim). A progression is just a route through those three feelings, which is why the loops above work in any key: the numerals stay the same, only the spelling changes.
Write with the letters, think with the numerals. If a melody outgrows Bb major, the whole chart moves at once: transpose it to any key and every chord re-spells itself correctly.
Bb major shares its entire chord set with G minor, its relative minor; the same seven chords, heard around a different home. Its nearest neighbors on the circle of fifths are F major and Eb major, one accidental away in either direction.
SongSheet keeps all of this live under a real chart: the key palette, the numerals, and capo math follow your song as you write. Start a chart free; no account needed.