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The Eb chord

Three flats and a barre on the guitar. On piano it is a warm, well-balanced major. The Eb (Eb - G - Bb) is a major triad, which is why it sounds a confident major triad. Writers pick it for a singalong opening, and you can find it across pop, folk, country and rock. On guitar the chord sits easily under standard open chord shapes; on piano it stacks straight up under the right hand. The page below covers the voicings worth memorising, the theory, the progressions where the Eb earns its keep, and the records that lean on it.

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Voicings for Eb

Common ways to grip the Eb on guitar and piano. Guitar diagrams read low E to high E left-to-right; an × means muted, an open circle above the nut means an open string. Filled dots are fretted notes.

Guitar , full chord shapes

CAGED-derived voicings for Eb across the neck. Pick the shape closest to where your hand already sits.

Guitar: E shape at fr.11

Notes: Eb - G - Bb (chord tones)

Guitar: A shape at fr.6

Notes: Eb - G - Bb (chord tones)

Guitar: D shape at fr.1

Notes: Eb - G - Bb (chord tones)

Guitar: C shape at fr.3

Notes: Eb - G - Bb (chord tones)

Guitar: G shape at fr.8

Notes: Eb - G - Bb (chord tones)

Guitar , triad shapes

Three-note voicings on three adjacent strings. Light textures for arpeggios, pop layering and chord-melody work.

Triad: top-string triad

Notes: 3-note voicing on adjacent strings

Triad: middle-string triad

Notes: 3-note voicing on adjacent strings

Triad: bass-side triad

Notes: 3-note voicing on adjacent strings

Piano voicings

Root position and inversions. The bass note matters: each inversion changes how the chord sits under a melody.

Piano: root position

Notes: Eb - G - Bb. Root Eb at the bottom. The classic stacked-thirds spelling of a major triad.

Piano: first inversion

Notes: G - Bb - Eb. G at the bottom. Common in chord-melody, walking bass lines and gentler voicings.

Piano: second inversion

Notes: Bb - Eb - G. Bb at the bottom. A floating, suspended feel often used in hymns and ballads.

The theory behind Eb

Spell out the Eb and you get Eb - G - Bb. The intervals from the root are root, major third, perfect fifth, which is the recipe for a major triad. In Bb major the chord plays the role of Subdominant (IV); in Eb major it shows up as Tonic (I). Its preferred next move is stay home or move to the IV or V, which is what makes it useful in any major-key songbook.

Progressions that use Eb

Short progressions that put the Eb to work. Each one is shown in a different key so you can pick the one that suits your singer.

I→V→vi→IV key of Bb major

Bb - F - Gm - Eb

The four-chord engine behind a thousand pop hits. The lift from I to V opens the chorus, vi pulls down into feeling, IV walks back toward home.

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I→V→vi→IV key of Eb major

Eb - Bb - Cm - Ab

The four-chord engine behind a thousand pop hits. The lift from I to V opens the chorus, vi pulls down into feeling, IV walks back toward home.

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I→V→vi→IV key of Ab major

Ab - Eb - Fm - Db

The four-chord engine behind a thousand pop hits. The lift from I to V opens the chorus, vi pulls down into feeling, IV walks back toward home.

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i→VI→III→VII key of G minor

Gm - Eb - Bb - F

Heroic minor four-chord. The descent from i to VI to III gives the verse weight, VII slingshots back to the tonic. The Andalusian cousin of the pop axis.

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Songs that feature Eb

Real records where this chord does structural work. No lyrics quoted, just the title and artist so you can pull up a copy and hear it in context.

All of Me by John Legend. Eb in the verse harmony.
Africa by Toto. Eb as a key chord.
Imagine by John Lennon. Eb appears within the song's chord palette.

Related chords

Chords a step away from the Eb in the songwriting circle, the natural neighbours when you want a substitution.

NeighbourBb NeighbourAb RelativeCm

Keys where Eb lives

The keys where this chord turns up diatonically. Open any key page for the full set of progressions that lean on it.

Bb major Eb major Ab major G minor

More songwriting tools

Got the chord but still wrestling with the lyric? Find the right rhyme in RhymeForge, or break a writer's block with the unexpected word-pair generator in CollisionLab. Need to map a full progression? The chord builder on the home page is where the Eb fits into context. All free, no signup.

About the chord builder

The Undercover Zest chord progression builder is a free interactive tool that maps every diatonic and borrowed chord in every key. Click a Roman numeral to hear it, drag chords into a progression, then audition voicings, inversions and tensions until the song clicks.

This page is a static reference for the Eb. For interactive playback, voice-leading hints and substitution suggestions, open the chord builder above.