6 flats key signature: which keys use six flats?
A 6 flats key signature belongs to G flat major and its relative minor, E flat minor. The six flats, in order, are B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, C flat. The flat second from the right is G flat, so that is the major name. Six perfect fifths down from C land on G flat. The pitches to recompute are 369.99 Hz for G flat and 311.13 Hz for E flat.
What a 6 flats key signature prints
G flat major and E flat minor share these six flats. Five flats stop at G flat and name D flat major, one fifth higher, on the 5 flats key signature page. The same sounding major can be spelled F sharp major, which takes six sharps, on the 6 sharps key signature page. That is a different signature, and this page does not walk through those six signs.
| 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 |
| C flat | third space | second space |
| G flat major | E flat minor |
|---|---|
| G flat, A flat, B flat, C flat, D flat, E flat, F | E flat, F, G flat, A flat, B flat, C flat, D flat |
Diatonic triads in G flat major: G flat major, A flat minor, B flat minor, C flat major, D flat major, E flat minor, F diminished. E flat minor starts on E flat minor, then F diminished, G flat major, A flat minor, B flat minor, C flat major, D flat major.
How six flats name G flat
With two or more flats, the major tonic is the flat second from the right. The rightmost flat here is C flat. The flat just to its left is G flat. That names G flat major. E flat minor is the other key that prints the same six flats.
Downward fifths: C to F, to B flat, to E flat, to A flat, to D flat, to G flat. Six steps, six flats. Five steps stop at D flat, already linked.
E flat minor sits a minor third under G flat. The prelude on this page is that minor key in the catalog. The finder, below, read the whole prelude as E flat minor.
Numbers you can check
Equal temperament from A 4 = 440 Hz: pitch = 440 × 2((midi − 69) ÷ 12) Hz. G flat 4 is midi 66, so 440 × 2(−3 ÷ 12) = 369.994… Hz, written 369.99 Hz. E flat 4 is midi 63, so 440 × 2(−6 ÷ 12) = 311.127… Hz, written 311.13 Hz.
The accidental count is six, names B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, C flat. Six perfect fifths below C spell G flat. Three semitones under G flat spell E flat.
The arithmetic is separate from the recording. On 20 October 2026 the key finder called the whole prelude E flat minor at 77% confidence. That is the catalog key of the prelude.
A recorded example you can check
Wikipedia’s The Well-Tempered Clavier article, read on 20 October 2026, lists Book 1 No. 8 as Prelude in E flat minor and Fugue in D sharp minor, BWV 853. The same paragraph says the fugue was transposed from D minor. 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 8 / BWV 853”. The file is the whole prelude, the way the finder is meant to be used: for files longer than 90 seconds it reads the opening, middle and closing 30 seconds together, so it is the minor-key prelude, not the fugue. D sharp minor is the six-sharp spelling of the same minor key. This page does not walk through those six sharps.
On 20 October 2026 at 07:48 EDT this site’s key finder read the whole prelude as E flat minor, Camelot 2A, at 77% confidence, with the hint “Check against your audio”. The next two candidates were A flat minor (Camelot 1A, 8%) and E flat major (Camelot 5B, 7%). The screen did not add a low-confidence note. It said it analyzed 30-second sections from the beginning, middle, and end. The percentage is this file’s estimate, not a measured accuracy rate. The article, the score heading, and the finder headline all name E flat minor. A flat minor is the 8% candidate, not the headline. This page leaves the alternatives on the record.
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. Six flats still mean B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, then C flat. The finder read this whole prelude as E flat minor.
6 flats key signature: quick answers
What key has 6 flats?
G flat major, and the relative minor E flat minor. Both use a 6 flats key signature.
What are the 6 flats in order?
B flat, E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat, C flat. The order of flats is B, E, A, D, G, C, F, and this signature stops at the sixth step.
Where does C flat sit?
On the treble staff, the third space. On the bass staff, the second space. It is the rightmost flat of the six.
What is the relative minor of G flat major?
E flat minor, three semitones under G flat. The catalog prelude on this page is that minor key. The finder put it first.
What did the finder return?
E flat minor, Camelot 2A, 77%. A flat minor at 8% and E flat major at 7% came next. The screen did not mark it low. The headline matches the catalog minor.
What this page leaves open
- Harmonic minor in E flat minor raises the seventh to D. That D is not one of the six printed flats.
- 369.99 Hz and 311.13 Hz are equal-temperament arithmetic. They were not measured from the piano file.
- 77% describes the whole prelude. For a file longer than 90 seconds the finder reads the opening, middle and closing 30 seconds together. It names E flat minor, which matches the article, and it is still an estimate rather than an accuracy rate.