- B major
Infobox Scale
scale_name=B major
relative=Gmusic|sharp minor
parallel=B minor
enharmonic=Cmusic|flat major
first_pitch=B
second_pitch=Cmusic|sharp
third_pitch=Dmusic|sharp
fourth_pitch=E
fifth_pitch=Fmusic|sharp
sixth_pitch=Gmusic|sharp
seventh_pitch=Amusic|sharpB major is a
major scale based on B, with the pitches B, Cmusic|sharp, Dmusic|sharp, E, Fmusic|sharp, Gmusic|sharp, and Amusic|sharp. Itskey signature has five sharps.B major's relative minor is
G-sharp minor , its parallel minor isB minor , and itsenharmonic equivalent isC-flat major .The key signature for B major is the least sharp key signature with three "lines" of sharps. In the treble clef, putting the sharp for A on its expected position relative to the sharp for G would require a ledger line. In the bass clef it would be possible to do this, but because in piano music this would result in a dissimilarity between the two staves that might throw off sight-reading, this is not usually done. However, it is occasionally found, resulting in the A-sharp in the bass-clef key signature appearing on the top line. In the alto clef, which occurs in string quartets and orchestral music, the B major key signature is usually written in just two "lines" of sharps.fact|date=March 2008
Although B major is usually thought of as a remote key, due to its distance from
C major in thecircle of fifths ) and its fairly large number of sharps,Frédéric Chopin regarded its scale as the easiest of all to play, as its black notes fit the natural positions of the fingers well; as a consequence he often assigned it first to beginning piano students, leaving the scale of C major till last because he considered it the hardest of all scales to play completely evenly (because of its complete lack of black notes).fact|date=March 2008While B major is workable on keyboard instruments and guitar, the key of
C-flat major is preferred for works written on the harp, as it is that instrument's home key.Note that in German and most Central and Northern European languages, the pitch B is called "H" while B♭ is called "B". This includes Nordic, Baltic, Western and Southern Slavic (except Bulgarian) languages as well as Hungarian.
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