B♭ natural minor scale (A♯ natural minor)
B♭ natural minor scale is B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭, with B♭, D♭, E♭, G♭ and A♭. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Press play and follow the keys.
The notes, one step at a time
The step pattern is W H W W H W W (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between C–D♭ and F–G♭.
| 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♭ | minor sixth | |
| ♭7 | A♭ | minor seventh |
The sound of B♭ natural minor scale
Play B♭ natural minor next to B♭ major and three notes drop: the 3rd, 6th and 7th. That lowered 3rd is what makes it sound minor; the lowered 6th and 7th make it softer and less pushy at the top.
Its signature sound is G♭ and A♭, the major chords on the ♭6 and ♭7, stepping back to B♭m: G♭ – A♭ – B♭m.
Compared with B♭ major scale, B♭ natural minor scale has D♭, G♭ and A♭ where the other has D, G and A; the other four notes are shared. Hear B♭ major scale and compare.
B♭ natural minor scale uses the same seven notes as D♭ major, starting from B♭ instead of D♭.
On piano and on guitar
On the piano it uses five black keys (B♭, D♭, E♭, G♭ and A♭) and two white.
On guitar the root sits at the 6th fret of the low E string. The box above covers frets 4–10 and holds 17 notes of the scale across all six strings; play it low string to high.
The key of B♭ minor
Songs in B♭ minor are built from these notes, so the key signature has five flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭). The relative major is D♭ major: same notes, starting on the 3rd degree. The parallel major, B♭ major, starts on the same note with different notes above it.
Chords and progressions in B♭ minor
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords of the key. Tap to hear each one.
Same notes, different home: C Locrian (starting on the 2nd note, C), D♭ major (starting on the 3rd note, D♭), E♭ Dorian (starting on the 4th note, E♭), F Phrygian (starting on the 5th note, F), G♭ Lydian (starting on the 6th note, G♭) and A♭ Mixolydian (starting on the 7th note, A♭). Play any of them over a drone on its first note and the mood changes, even though the keys you press don't.
Moving it around the guitar
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. On guitar it shares every note with the relative major, so the same boxes work with a different root in mind.
On the piano, B♭ natural minor scale uses 5 black keys (B♭, D♭, E♭, G♭ and A♭) and 2 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.
Drills for B♭ natural minor
Running a scale straight up and down only teaches the order. These patterns use the same 7 notes and train your ear and fingers to jump around inside B♭ natural minor scale.
- Up in threes: B♭ C D♭ · C D♭ E♭ · D♭ E♭ F · E♭ F G♭ · F G♭ A♭ · G♭ A♭ B♭.
- Land on G♭: B♭ G♭ B♭ G♭ B♭: the ♭6 is what makes natural minor darker than Dorian.
Close relatives of B♭ natural minor scale
Natural minor scale in every key
B♭ natural minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the B♭ natural minor scale?
B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭ and A♭, then B♭ again at the octave. Formula: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the B♭ natural minor scale?
Five: B♭, D♭, E♭, G♭ and A♭. That matches the key signature of B♭ minor.
What chords are in the B♭ natural minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives B♭m (i), Cdim (ii°), D♭ (III), E♭m (iv), Fm (v), G♭ (VI) and A♭ (VII).
What's the difference between B♭ natural minor scale and B♭ major scale?
D♭, G♭ and A♭ in B♭ natural minor; D, G and A in the other. Everything else is the same.
Which major scale has the same notes as B♭ natural minor scale?
D♭ major. B♭ natural minor is D♭ major played from its 6th note, B♭.
Generated from the step pattern 2-1-2-2-1-2-2 and checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.