B♭ melodic minor scale (A♯ melodic minor)
B♭ melodic minor scale is B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A, with B♭, D♭ and E♭. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7. Press play and follow the keys.
B♭ melodic minor scale, note by note
From B♭ upward the gaps are W H W W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between C–D♭ and A–B♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from B♭ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B♭ | root | |
| 2 | C | major second | |
| ♭3 | D♭ | minor third | |
| 4 | E♭ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | F | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | G | major sixth | |
| 7 | A | major seventh |
How the melodic minor scale sounds
Its top half is the same as B♭ major and its bottom half is minor, which gives it a dark start and a bright finish; jazz uses it for altered and lydian-dominant sounds.
Coming down, classical players switch to the natural form: B♭ – A♭ – G♭ – F – E♭ – D♭ – C – B♭. Jazz keeps G and A both ways.
Compared with B♭ natural minor scale, B♭ melodic minor scale has G and A where the other has G♭ and A♭; the other five notes are shared. Hear B♭ natural minor scale and compare.
Playing B♭ melodic minor
On the piano it uses three black keys (B♭, D♭ and E♭) and four white.
The guitar box starts with the root at the 6th fret of the low E string and spans frets 4–10: 18 notes, low string to high.
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords that fit B♭ melodic minor scale; the ones that differ from the major set are what give the scale its color. Tap to hear each one.
B♭ melodic minor scale across the fretboard
Anchor points for B♭: low E string fret 6, A string fret 1 and 13. Most guitarists learn it in five overlapping positions; on the low E string they begin around frets 1, 3, 6, 8 and 11. Classical teaching plays it with the raised notes going up and natural minor coming down; jazz players keep it the same both ways.
On the piano, B♭ melodic minor scale uses 3 black keys (B♭, D♭ and E♭) and 4 white.
A good drill once the scale is under your fingers: play it in thirds, skipping one note each time. Here that's B♭–D♭, C–E♭, D♭–F, E♭–G, F–A, G–B♭, A–C.
Practice patterns for B♭ melodic minor scale
Try these after the plain scale. Tap to hear each pattern at a steady speed, then play along.
- Three-note runs: B♭ C D♭ · C D♭ E♭ · D♭ E♭ F · E♭ F G · F G A · G A B♭.
- Target G: B♭ G B♭ G B♭: the raised 6th and 7th make the top half sound major.
Close relatives of B♭ melodic minor scale
Melodic minor scale in every key
B♭ melodic minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the B♭ melodic minor scale?
B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G, A, B♭. As degrees: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7.
How many sharps or flats are in the B♭ melodic minor scale?
Three: B♭, D♭ and E♭.
What chords are in the B♭ melodic minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives B♭m (i), Cm (ii), D♭aug (III+), E♭ (IV), F (V), Gdim (vi°) and Adim (vii°).
What's the difference between B♭ melodic minor scale and B♭ natural minor scale?
G and A in B♭ melodic minor; G♭ and A♭ in the other. Everything else is the same.
Notes and fingering generated from the scale formula and checked automatically against the step pattern. Updated September 2026.