Key reference

The key of B major

5 sharps · B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯

B major has 5 sharps: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯. A piece in this key draws on B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A♯ and treats B as home.

The seven chords below are the ones built from those notes alone, which is why they sound like they belong together.

The key signature

The key signature of B major: F, C, G, D, A.

Order of sharps

F♯
C♯
G♯
D♯
A♯
E♯
B♯

This signature uses the first 5 of them: F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯.

The notes of the key

These are the notes of the major scale on this tonic. See the B major scale for the degrees and step pattern.

B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯

The seven diatonic chords

Build a triad on each degree using only notes from the key and the qualities fall into a fixed pattern. That pattern is the same in every major key, which is why progressions transpose so cleanly.

Degree	Roman	Chord	Notes	Function
1	I	B	B – D♯ – F♯	Tonic
2	ii	C♯m	C♯ – E – G♯	Predominant
3	iii	D♯m	D♯ – F♯ – A♯	Tonic
4	IV	E	E – G♯ – B	Predominant
5	V	F♯	F♯ – A♯ – C♯	Dominant
6	vi	G♯m	G♯ – B – D♯	Tonic
7	vii°	A♯dim	A♯ – C♯ – E	Dominant

Adding sevenths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of the key.

Roman	Chord	Notes
I	Bmaj7	B – D♯ – F♯ – A♯
ii	C♯m7	C♯ – E – G♯ – B
iii	D♯m7	D♯ – F♯ – A♯ – C♯
IV	Emaj7	E – G♯ – B – D♯
V7	F♯7	F♯ – A♯ – C♯ – E
vi	G♯m7	G♯ – B – D♯ – F♯
vii°	A♯m7♭5	A♯ – C♯ – E – G♯

Common progressions in B major

These are the same shapes you meet in every major key, written with this key’s chords.

I – V – vi – IV

BITonic
F♯VDominant
G♯mviTonic
EIVPredominant

I – vi – IV – V

BITonic
G♯mviTonic
EIVPredominant
F♯VDominant

ii – V – I

C♯miiPredominant
F♯VDominant
BITonic

Related keys

Relationship	Key	Signature
Relative minor	G♯ minor	Same signature
Parallel minor	B minor	2 sharps
One step sharpwards	F♯ major	One more sharp
One step flatwards	E major	One more flat

Neighbouring keys on the circle of fifths share six of their seven notes.