Minor key
B flat minor
Its seven chords: B♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭, A♭.
- B♭1
- C2
- D♭3
- E♭4
- F5
- G♭6
- A♭7
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord | Notes of the seventh chord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 B♭ | i B♭m | i7 B♭m7 | B♭ D♭ F A♭ |
| 2 C | ii° Cdim | iiø7 Cm7♭5 | C E♭ G♭ B♭ |
| 3 D♭ | III D♭ | IIImaj7 D♭maj7 | D♭ F A♭ C |
| 4 E♭ | iv E♭m | iv7 E♭m7 | E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ |
| 5 F | v Fm | v7 Fm7 | F A♭ C E♭ |
| 6 G♭ | VI G♭ | VImaj7 G♭maj7 | G♭ B♭ D♭ F |
| 7 A♭ | VII A♭ | VII7 A♭7 | A♭ C E♭ G♭ |
| Harmonic minor | V F | F A C | |
| Harmonic minor | V7 F7 | F A C E♭ | |
| Harmonic minor | vii°7 Adim7 | A C E♭ G♭ | |
- i–iv–V–i
- B♭m
- E♭m
- F
- B♭m
- i–VI–III–VII
- B♭m
- G♭
- D♭
- A♭
- i–VII–VI–V
- B♭m
- A♭
- G♭
- F
- ii°–V7–i
- Cdim
- F7
- B♭m
About B flat minor
B flat minor is built on the notes B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭. It has 5♭ in the signature (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭), so every note of its scale is either a white key or one of those sharps or flats; nothing else is needed. The first note is the home note: melodies in B flat minor tend to come back to it, and the music feels finished when they do.
The home chord is B♭m and the main chords are B♭m, E♭m and F. Note that F is major: minor keys usually borrow the raised seventh note (A) from the harmonic minor scale, so that the fifth chord pulls strongly back to the tonic. Its seventh-chord form is F7.
Its relative key is D flat major: the same notes and the same signature, starting from D♭. Many pieces move between the two, and the chords of one are the chords of the other in a different order. The parallel key, B flat major, starts on the same note but has a different signature.
On the circle of fifths, B flat minor sits between E flat minor and F minor, and inside its relative major. Melodies in a minor key often use both the natural and the raised seventh note (A), so you will see both versions of the V chord in real music.
On guitar, B flat minor needs several barre chords. A capo helps: put it on fret 1 and play the shapes Am, C, Dm, Em, F, G, and you sound in B flat minor with mostly open chords.
To get to know the key, play the scale slowly, then the chords in order from I to vii, saying the Roman numerals aloud. Then try the progressions above with the play button and play along at a steady tempo.