B melodic minor scale
B melodic minor scale is B – C♯ – D – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯, with C♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
Notes and steps
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
With the 6th and 7th raised, B melodic minor is only one note away from B major: the minor 3rd. It climbs smoothly to the top without harmonic minor's big gap.
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.
On piano and on guitar
C♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯ are on black keys; the rest are white.
On guitar the root sits at the 7th fret of the low E string. The box above covers frets 5–11 and holds 18 notes of the scale across all six strings; play it 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.
Moving it around the guitar
Find B first: fret 7 of the 6th string, fret 2 and 14 of the 5th. Most guitarists learn it in five overlapping positions; on the low E string they begin around frets 2, 4, 7, 9 and 12. 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 4 black keys (C♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯) and 3 white.
Try it in thirds to stop it sounding like an exercise: B–D, C♯–E, D–F♯, E–G♯, F♯–A♯, G♯–B, A♯–C♯, then back down.
Three ways to practise B melodic minor
Once B melodic minor is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 7 notes.
- Groups of three: 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.
Try next, from B
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?
Four: C♯, F♯, G♯ and A♯.
What chords are in the B melodic minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives Bm (i), C♯m (ii), Daug (III+), E (IV), F♯ (V), G♯dim (vi°) and A♯dim (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.
Every note on this page is computed from 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 and tested. Updated September 2026.