E♭ natural minor scale (D♯ natural minor)
E♭ natural minor scale is E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D♭, with E♭, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭ and D♭. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. Play it, then slow the tempo until every note is clear.
E♭ natural minor scale, note by note
The step pattern is W H W W H W W (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between F–G♭ and B♭–C♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from E♭ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E♭ | root | |
| 2 | F | major second | |
| ♭3 | G♭ | minor third | |
| 4 | A♭ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | B♭ | perfect fifth | |
| ♭6 | C♭ | minor sixth | |
| ♭7 | D♭ | minor seventh |
The sound of E♭ natural minor scale
The natural minor scale is the darker twin of the major scale. It has the same notes as G♭ major, but starting on E♭ changes where the half steps fall, and the mood turns.
Natural minor has no leading tone: D♭ is a whole step below E♭, which is why D♭ – E♭m sounds modal and open rather than final.
Compared with E♭ major scale, E♭ natural minor scale has G♭, C♭ and D♭ where the other has G, C and D; the other four notes are shared. Hear E♭ major scale and compare.
E♭ natural minor scale uses the same seven notes as F♯ major, starting from E♭ instead of F♯.
Where your hands go
E♭, G♭, A♭, B♭ and D♭ are on black keys; the rest are white. C♭ is a white key with a sharp or flat name, because each letter can appear only once in the scale.
17 notes fit in the box between frets 9 and 15, with E♭ at the 11th fret of the low E string.
The key of E♭ minor
Songs in E♭ minor are built from these notes, so the key signature has six flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭). The relative major is F♯ major: same notes, starting on the 3rd degree. The parallel major, E♭ major, starts on the same note with different notes above it.
Chords and progressions in E♭ 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♯ Mixolydian (starting on the 7th note, C♯), F Locrian (starting on the 2nd note, F), F♯ major (starting on the 3rd note, F♯), G♯ Dorian (starting on the 4th note, G♯), B♭ Phrygian (starting on the 5th note, B♭) and B Lydian (starting on the 6th note, B). Play any of them over a drone on its first note and the mood changes, even though the keys you press don't.
Finding E♭ natural minor on the neck
Find E♭ first: fret 11 of the 6th string, fret 6 of the 5th. Most guitarists learn it in five overlapping positions; on the low E string they begin around frets 1, 4, 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, E♭ natural minor scale uses 5 black keys (E♭, G♭, A♭, B♭ and D♭) 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 E♭–G♭, F–A♭, G♭–B♭, A♭–C♭, B♭–D♭, C♭–E♭, D♭–F.
Practice patterns for E♭ natural minor scale
Once E♭ natural minor is comfortable up and down, break the order. Each pattern below uses only its 7 notes.
- Three-note runs: E♭ F G♭ · F G♭ A♭ · G♭ A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C♭ · B♭ C♭ D♭ · C♭ D♭ E♭.
- Lean on C♭: E♭ C♭ E♭ C♭ E♭: the ♭6 is what makes natural minor darker than Dorian.
Scales to compare with E♭ natural minor
Natural minor scale in every key
E♭ natural minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the E♭ natural minor scale?
E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭ and D♭, then E♭ again at the octave. Formula: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.
How many sharps or flats are in the E♭ natural minor scale?
Six: E♭, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭ and D♭. That matches the key signature of E♭ minor.
What chords are in the E♭ natural minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives E♭m (i), Fdim (ii°), G♭ (III), A♭m (iv), B♭m (v), C♭ (VI) and D♭ (VII).
What's the difference between E♭ natural minor scale and E♭ major scale?
G♭, C♭ and D♭ in E♭ natural minor; G, C and D in the other. Everything else is the same.
Which major scale has the same notes as E♭ natural minor scale?
F♯ major. E♭ natural minor is F♯ major played from its 6th note, E♭.
Notes and fingering generated from the scale formula and checked automatically against the step pattern. Updated September 2026.