Questions and answers
No questions on this lesson yet. Be the first to ask one.
Lesson Steps
Add a header to begin generating the table of contents
The E-flat Major Scale
The E-flat major scale has three flats. The pair of black keys in the middle, A-flat and B-flat, sits under the same two fingers in each hand, and neither hand needs the fifth finger. It helps to notice early that both hands start on the third finger, so the thumbs are free for the white keys.
Lesson Steps
Add a header to begin generating the table of contents
E-flat Major Scale Overview
| E-flat Major Scale Overview | |
|---|---|
| Keyboard Layout |  |
| Staff Layout |  |
| Key Signature | Three flats (B♭, E♭, A♭) |
| Notes of Scale | E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭,C, D, E♭ |
| RH Fingering | 3 - 1 2 3 4 - 1 2 3 |
| LH Fingering | 3 2 1 - 4 3 2 1 -3 |
| Relative Scale | C Minor Scale |
| Parallel Scale | E-flat Minor Scale |
Visualize the E-flat major scale layout on the piano
The E-flat major scale has three black keys: E-flat at each end, and a pair, A-flat and B-flat, in the middle. As a terrain, it’s two low valleys of white keys, F and G and then C and D, separated by a ridge of two black keys.
Read the E-flat major scale on the staff
Here is the E-flat major scale for both hands together, one octave up and back down. The key signature has three flats, on B, E, and A.
Play the E-flat major scale with hands alone
Let’s start with each hand on its own. Every scale divides into two core positions, the groups of notes the hand can hold in one position: a group of three notes played with fingers 1-2-3 (red on the charts) and a group of four played with 1-2-3-4 (blue).
The core positions don’t start on the keynote, and neither hand needs the fifth finger. The right hand begins with the third finger on E-flat, which belongs to the three-note group C, D, and E-flat, and then plays F, G, A-flat, and B-flat as the four-note group. The left hand begins with E-flat, F, and G on 3-2-1, followed by the four-note group A-flat, B-flat, C, and D, and ends with the third finger on the top E-flat.
A useful way to work with the core positions is in three stages:
- Block: play all the notes of each core position together, moving up and down the keyboard. This lets us see each position as one shape and get used to the pattern repeating.
- Crawl: play one note at a time, but hold each note down until the whole position is under the hand, then pause before moving on. This builds the physical sense of each grouping.
- Anticipate: play legato, releasing each finger as the next one plays, while keeping the next position in mind before we arrive at it.
Play the E-flat major scale with hands together
Once each hand feels reliable on its own, we can put them together. The difficulty here is that the two hands’ core positions don’t line up, so following them in both hands at once tends to create more confusion than clarity. Instead, let’s look for sync points: moments where both hands use the same finger on the same note, or where the fingers form a mirror image.
On the black keys, the 3rd fingers meet on the starting E-flat and again on the top E-flat, and fingers 3 and 4 form a mirror image on A-flat and B-flat. Having that pair of black keys under the same two fingers in each hand gives the middle of the scale a strong anchor.
The thumbs come together on the two pairs of white keys, F and G and then C and D, where fingers 1 and 2 form a mirror image, the “crab claw”.
The same three stages work for sync points:
- Block: find each sync point and play it on its own, outside the scale.
- Crawl: play the scale up and down, stopping on each sync point to look at it and notice how it feels under the hands. There’s no need for legato here.
- Anticipate: play in a steady rhythm, seeing each sync point coming and landing on it with a slight accent.
Expand the E-flat major scale to more octaves
Extending the E-flat major scale is simpler than it might seem, because neither hand uses the fifth finger. The same core positions just keep repeating, in both directions, until the top or bottom of the range. The right hand finishes on finger 3 and the left hand on finger 3, exactly as they do in one octave.
Avoid common mistakes in the E-flat major scale
It’s tempting to begin with the thumb, but both hands start on the third finger. The black keys are for the longer fingers; the thumbs wait for the white keys.
If the hand drifts out toward the edge of the white keys, A-natural or E-natural can slip in. Keeping the fingertips close to the black keys keeps the pair A-flat and B-flat within easy reach.
Other techniques related to the E-flat major piano scale:
Explore More Piano Scales
Continue learning with our full library of piano scale lessons
