E flat minor scale

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

  1. E♭1
  2. whole
  3. F2
  4. half
  5. G♭3
  6. whole
  7. A♭4
  8. whole
  9. B♭5
  10. half
  11. C♭6
  12. whole
  13. D♭7
  14. whole
  15. E♭8
F1C♭1E♭3G♭2A♭3B♭4D♭2E♭3

E♭ minor on the staff, piano and guitar

On the staff

♭♭♭♭♭♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E♭♭♭♭♭♭♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E♭

On piano

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

F1C♭1E♭2G♭4A♭3B♭2D♭3E♭2

Left hand 2 1, then finger 4 crosses over to G♭: 4 3 2 1 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♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭D♭

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

How to play the E flat minor scale on piano

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

Practice the E♭ minor scale

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

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

The key of E♭ minor

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

Relative major
G♭ major
Parallel major
E♭ major
Neighbors on the circle of fifths
A♭ minor and B♭ minor
♭♭♭♭♭♭CAmGEmDBmAF♯mEC♯mBC♭VIG♯mA♭mivF♯G♭IIID♯mE♭miD♭C♯VIIB♭mA♯mvA♭FmE♭CmB♭GmFDmE♭ minor
E♭ minor on the circle of fifths, with the chords of its key marked.

The name of each note in the key

  1. 1E♭tonic
  2. 2Fsupertonic
  3. 3G♭mediant
  4. 4A♭subdominant
  5. 5B♭dominant
  6. 6C♭submediant
  7. 7D♭subtonic

Chords in E♭ 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. iE♭m
  2. ii°Fdim
  3. IIIG♭
  4. ivA♭m
  5. vB♭m
  6. VIC♭
  7. VIID♭

E♭ harmonic and melodic minor

Harmonic minor

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

♭♭♭♭♭♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭C♭♮DE♭

Melodic minor

E♭ melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th notes going up, C♭ to C♮ and D♭ to D♮, and comes back down as the natural minor.

♭♭♭♭♭♭E♭FG♭A♭B♭♮C♮DE♭♭D♭♭C♭B♭A♭G♭FE♭

Modes on the same notes

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

Practice notes for the E flat minor scale

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

Where it goes wrong. C♭, the 6th note. It is the white key most people call B, and here it must be C♭, because the scale already has a B♭. Melodic minor going up raises it to C♮, and D♭ to D♮, so one exercise asks you to read C♭, C♮ and D♮ in quick succession.

How to practice it. Right hand: 3 on E♭, thumb on F, 2 3 4 for G♭ A♭ B♭, thumb under to C♭, then 2 3 for D♭ E♭. Left hand: 2 on E♭, thumb on F, then 4 crosses over to G♭, 3 2 for A♭ B♭, thumb on C♭, and 3 2 for D♭ E♭. In both hands the thumbs play only F and C♭, the two white keys.

What to listen for. D♮ to E♭ in harmonic and melodic minor, the half step up to the keynote. In natural minor the 7th is D♭, a whole step below, so there is no half step leading home.

What to learn next. G♭ major, the relative major with the same six flats, and B♭ minor, one flat fewer.

Questions

What are the notes of the E♭ minor scale?

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

What chords are in the key of E♭ minor?

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

Why does E♭ minor have six flats?

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

What is the relative major of E♭ minor?

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

What is the E♭ harmonic minor scale?

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