5 flats key signature: which keys use five flats?
A 5 flats key signature belongs to D flat major and its relative minor, B flat minor. The five flats, in order, are B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat. The flat second from the right is D flat, so that is the major name. Five perfect fifths down from C land on D flat. The pitches to recompute are 277.18 Hz for D flat and 233.08 Hz for B flat.
What a 5 flats key signature prints
D flat major and B flat minor share these five flats. The next flat in the fixed order would be C flat, and that sixth flat names G flat major, on the 6 flats key signature page. Four flats stop at D flat and name A flat major, one fifth higher, on the 4 flats key signature page.
| Flat | Treble staff | Bass staff |
|---|---|---|
| B flat | third line | second line |
| E flat | fourth space | third space |
| A flat | second space | top line |
| D flat | fourth line | third line |
| G flat | second line | fourth space |
| D flat major | B flat minor |
|---|---|
| D flat, E flat, F, G flat, A flat, B flat, C | B flat, C, D flat, E flat, F, G flat, A flat |
Diatonic triads in D flat major: D flat major, E flat minor, F minor, G flat major, A flat major, B flat minor, C diminished. B flat minor starts on B flat minor, then C diminished, D flat major, E flat minor, F minor, G flat major, A flat major.
How five flats name D flat
With two or more flats, the major tonic is the flat second from the right. The rightmost flat here is G flat. The flat just to its left is D flat. That names D flat major. B flat minor is the other key that prints the same five flats.
Downward fifths: C to F, to B flat, to E flat, to A flat, to D flat. Five steps, five flats. The same sounding major can be spelled C sharp major, which takes seven sharps, on the 7 sharps key signature page. That is a different signature, and this page does not walk through those seven signs.
B flat minor sits a minor third under D flat. The prelude on this page is the minor one, so the closing harmony leans on B flat, not on D flat.
Numbers you can check
Equal temperament from A 4 = 440 Hz: pitch = 440 × 2((midi − 69) ÷ 12) Hz. D flat 4 is midi 61, so 440 × 2(−8 ÷ 12) = 277.183… Hz, written 277.18 Hz. B flat 3 is midi 58, so 440 × 2(−11 ÷ 12) = 233.082… Hz, written 233.08 Hz.
The accidental count is five, names B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat. Five perfect fifths below C spell D flat. Three semitones under D flat spell B flat.
The arithmetic is separate from the recording. On 20 October 2026 the key finder called this B flat minor prelude opening B flat minor at 77% confidence. D flat major was only a later candidate.
A recorded example you can check
Wikipedia’s The Well-Tempered Clavier article, read on 20 October 2026, lists Book 1 No. 22 as Prelude and Fugue in B flat minor, BWV 867. The Open Well-Tempered Clavier score, MuseScore edition by Olivier Miquel, version 1.0 of 19 March 2015, marked Creative Commons Zero, heads the page “Praeludium 22 / BWV 867” and prints five flats after the treble clef. The clip is the opening of that prelude, so it is the minor key of this signature, not a D flat major prelude. Book 1 has no separate D flat major prelude. The catalog names B flat minor. The engraving shows the five flats. Those are two documents.
On 20 October 2026 at 06:03 EDT this site’s key finder read the clip as B flat minor, Camelot 3A, at 77% confidence, with the hint “Check against your audio”. The next two candidates were E flat minor (Camelot 2A, 11%) and D flat major (Camelot 3B, 6%). The screen did not add a low-confidence note. The percentage is this file’s estimate, not a measured accuracy rate. The article, the score title, and the finder all name B flat minor. D flat major, the major key of these five flats, showed up only at 6%.
What our key tools tell you
The key finder names a key from a recording. Key from chords names one from chord symbols. Neither tool redraws the staff. Five flats still mean B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, then G flat, whether the clip settles on B flat minor or on D flat major.
5 flats key signature: quick answers
What key has 5 flats?
D flat major, and the relative minor B flat minor. Both use a 5 flats key signature.
What are the 5 flats in order?
B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat. The order of flats is B, E, A, D, G, C, F, and this signature stops at the fifth step.
Where does G flat sit?
On the treble staff, the second line. On the bass staff, the fourth space. It is the rightmost flat of the five.
What is the relative minor of D flat major?
B flat minor, three semitones under D flat. The recording on this page is that minor prelude.
What did the finder return?
B flat minor, Camelot 3A, 77%. E flat minor at 11% and D flat major at 6% came next.
What this page leaves open
- Harmonic minor in B flat minor raises the seventh to A. That A is not one of the five printed flats.
- 277.18 Hz and 233.08 Hz are equal-temperament arithmetic. They were not measured from the piano file.
- 77% describes this 20-second minor-key opening. It does not say that every piece in five flats is B flat minor.