B flat minor scale

The B♭ minor scale is B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭ and A♭, with five flats. From B♭, the steps go whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole.

  1. B♭1
  2. whole
  3. C2
  4. half
  5. D♭3
  6. whole
  7. E♭4
  8. whole
  9. F5
  10. half
  11. G♭6
  12. whole
  13. A♭7
  14. whole
  15. B♭8
C1F1B♭2D♭2E♭3G♭2A♭3B♭4

B♭ minor on the staff, piano and guitar

On the staff

♭♭♭♭♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭♭♭♭♭♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭

On piano

Right hand 2 1 2 3, then the thumb passes under to F: 1 2 3 4.

C1F1B♭2D♭3E♭2G♭4A♭3B♭2

Left hand 2 1, then finger 3 crosses over to D♭: 3 2 1 4 3 2.

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Coming down, play the same fingers in reverse.

On guitar

56789EBGDAEB♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭CD♭

Every note of B♭ minor between the 5th and 9th fret. The root, B♭, has a heavy ring.

How to play the B flat minor scale on piano

  1. Find B♭, the third black key of a group of three.
  2. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to C.
  3. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to D♭, a black key.
  4. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to E♭, a black key.
  5. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to F.
  6. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to G♭, a black key.
  7. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to A♭, a black key.
  8. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to B♭, an octave above where you started.

Practice the B♭ minor scale

Play the B♭ minor scale one note a beat, up and back down: B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ A♭ G♭ F E♭ D♭ C B♭. Hands separately first. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every note lands on the beat.

B♭
  1. B♭
  2. C
  3. D♭
  4. E♭
  5. F
  6. G♭
  7. A♭
  8. B♭
  9. A♭
  10. G♭
  11. F
  12. E♭
  13. D♭
  14. C
  15. B♭

The key of B♭ minor

Follow the minor pattern from B♭ and five notes need a flat: B♭, D♭, E♭, G♭ and A♭. Those five flats are the key signature, the same as D♭ major, its relative major.

Relative major
D♭ major
Parallel major
B♭ major
Neighbors on the circle of fifths
E♭ minor and F minor
♭♭♭♭♭CAmGEmDBmAF♯mEC♯mBC♭G♯mA♭mF♯G♭VID♯mE♭mivD♭C♯IIIB♭mA♯miA♭VIIFmvE♭CmB♭GmFDmB♭ minor
B♭ minor on the circle of fifths, with the chords of its key marked.

The name of each note in the key

  1. 1B♭tonic
  2. 2Csupertonic
  3. 3D♭mediant
  4. 4E♭subdominant
  5. 5Fdominant
  6. 6G♭submediant
  7. 7A♭subtonic

Chords in B♭ minor

Build a chord on each note of the scale, using only the scale's notes, and you get the seven chords of the key. The numeral is the chord's place in the key: capitals for major, small letters for minor.

  1. iB♭m
  2. ii°Cdim
  3. IIID♭
  4. ivE♭m
  5. vFm
  6. VIG♭
  7. VIIA♭

B♭ harmonic and melodic minor

Harmonic minor

B♭ harmonic minor raises the 7th note a half step, A♭ to A♮, so the scale leads back to B♭.

♭♭♭♭♭B♭CD♭E♭FG♭♮AB♭

Melodic minor

B♭ melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th notes going up, G♭ to G♮ and A♭ to A♮, and comes back down as the natural minor.

♭♭♭♭♭B♭CD♭E♭F♮G♮AB♭♭A♭♭G♭FE♭D♭CB♭

Modes on the same notes

Start the D♭ major scale on another of its notes and you get a mode, with the same key signature: D♭ ionian, E♭ dorian, F phrygian, G♭ lydian, A♭ mixolydian, B♭ aeolian, C locrian.

Practice notes for the B flat minor scale

B♭ minor has five flats, B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭: B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭. It is the relative minor of D♭ major. The same keys spelled with sharps are A♯ minor, seven sharps, the relative minor of C♯ major; this site files it here.

Where it goes wrong. The thumbs. Only C and F are white, and both hands must put the thumb on exactly those two. Right hand: 2 on B♭, thumb on C, 2 3 for D♭ E♭, thumb under to F, then 2 3 4 for G♭ A♭ B♭. Left hand: 2 on B♭, thumb on C, 3 crosses over to D♭, 2 for E♭, thumb on F, then 4 3 2 for G♭ A♭ B♭.

How to practice it. Put both thumbs on C and F before you start and look at where the other fingers fall. Then play each hand alone, slowly. After that, harmonic minor: the 7th, A♭, goes up to A♮, a white key, and the fingering does not change.

What to listen for. A♮ to B♭ in harmonic and melodic minor, the half step up to the keynote. Melodic minor going up also raises G♭ to G♮, so the upper half sounds like B♭ major.

What to learn next. D♭ major, the relative major with the same five flats, and F minor and E♭ minor, one flat fewer and one flat more.

Questions

What are the notes of the B♭ minor scale?

B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭ and A♭, then B♭ again an octave up.

What chords are in the key of B♭ minor?

B♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭ and A♭: i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI and VII.

Why does B♭ minor have five flats?

Follow the minor pattern from B♭ and five notes need a flat: B♭, D♭, E♭, G♭ and A♭. Those five flats are the key signature, the same as D♭ major, its relative major.

What is the relative major of B♭ minor?

D♭ major. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on D♭.

What is the B♭ harmonic minor scale?

B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭ and A. B♭ harmonic minor raises the 7th note a half step, A♭ to A♮, so the scale leads back to B♭.