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Minor key

E flat minor

Its seven chords: E♭m, Fdim, G♭, A♭m, B♭m, C♭, D♭.

Key signature6♭B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭
Relative keyF sharp majorSame notesParallel keyE flat majorSame home note
Scale of E flat minor
  • E♭1
  • F2
  • G♭3
  • A♭4
  • B♭5
  • C♭6
  • D♭7
Scale of E flat minorE♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭FC♭E♭G♭A♭B♭D♭E♭

Chords in E flat minor

  1. iE♭mHomeE♭mStrings from lowest to highest: muted, muted, fret 1 finger 1, fret 3 finger 3, fret 4 finger 4, fret 2 finger 2.E♭mStrings from lowest to highest: fret 3 finger 3, fret 3 finger 4, fret 2 finger 2, fret 1 finger 1.E♭m63, 66, 70
  2. ii°FdimAwayFdimStrings from lowest to highest: muted, muted, fret 3 finger 3, fret 1 finger 1, open, fret 1 finger 2.FdimStrings from lowest to highest: fret 4 finger 2, fret 5 finger 4, fret 4 finger 3, fret 2 finger 1.Fdim65, 68, 71
  3. IIIG♭HomeG♭Strings from lowest to highest: fret 2 finger 1, fret 4 finger 3, fret 4 finger 4, fret 3 finger 2, fret 2 finger 1, fret 2 finger 1. Barre at fret 2.G♭Strings from lowest to highest: fret 3 finger 3, fret 1 finger 1, fret 2 finger 2, fret 1 finger 1. Barre at fret 1.G♭66, 70, 73
  4. ivA♭mAwayA♭mStrings from lowest to highest: fret 4 finger 1, fret 6 finger 3, fret 6 finger 4, fret 4 finger 1, fret 4 finger 1, fret 4 finger 1. Barre at fret 4.4frA♭mStrings from lowest to highest: fret 1 finger 1, fret 3 finger 3, fret 4 finger 4, fret 2 finger 2.A♭m68, 71, 75
  5. vB♭mTensionB♭mStrings from lowest to highest: muted, fret 1 finger 1, fret 3 finger 3, fret 3 finger 4, fret 2 finger 2, fret 1 finger 1. Barre at fret 1.B♭mStrings from lowest to highest: fret 3 finger 3, fret 1 finger 1, fret 1 finger 1, fret 1 finger 1. Barre at fret 1.B♭m70, 73, 77
  6. VIC♭HomeC♭Strings from lowest to highest: muted, fret 2 finger 1, fret 4 finger 2, fret 4 finger 3, fret 4 finger 4, fret 2 finger 1. Barre at fret 2.C♭Strings from lowest to highest: fret 4 finger 3, fret 3 finger 2, fret 2 finger 1, fret 2 finger 1. Barre at fret 2.C♭71, 75, 78
  7. VIID♭TensionD♭Strings from lowest to highest: muted, fret 4 finger 4, fret 3 finger 3, fret 1 finger 1, fret 2 finger 2, fret 1 finger 1. Barre at fret 1.D♭Strings from lowest to highest: fret 1 finger 1, fret 1 finger 1, fret 1 finger 1, fret 4 finger 4. Barre at fret 1.D♭61, 65, 68
DegreeTriadSeventh chordNotes of the seventh chord
1 E♭i E♭mi7 E♭m7E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭
2 Fii° Fdimiiø7 Fm7♭5F A♭ C♭ E♭
3 G♭III G♭IIImaj7 G♭maj7G♭ B♭ D♭ F
4 A♭iv A♭miv7 A♭m7A♭ C♭ E♭ G♭
5 B♭v B♭mv7 B♭m7B♭ D♭ F A♭
6 C♭VI C♭VImaj7 C♭maj7C♭ E♭ G♭ B♭
7 D♭VII D♭VII7 D♭7D♭ F A♭ C♭
Harmonic minorV B♭B♭ D F
Harmonic minorV7 B♭7B♭ D F A♭
Harmonic minorvii°7 Ddim7D F A♭ C♭

Progressions in E flat minor

Sound

About E flat minor

Play E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D♭ and back to the first note again, and you have the scale of E flat minor. With 6♭ in the signature (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭), it is easy to read once you know the signature. Every chord in the table above is made only from these notes.

Three chords hold E flat minor together: the tonic E♭m, the subdominant A♭m and the dominant B♭. The last one is borrowed from the harmonic minor scale: raising the seventh note to D creates a leading tone that resolves up by a half step to the home note.

Starting the same scale from F♯ gives F sharp major, the relative key. Borrowing a chord from E flat major, the parallel key, is a classic way to add colour: a minor chord in a major key, or a major chord in a minor one, for a moment.

The neighbouring minor keys are B flat minor and G sharp minor; each is one note away from E flat minor. The ii chord of the key, Fdim, is diminished, and in jazz it is often played as a half-diminished chord leading to B♭.

If the barre chords of E flat minor are hard for you, use a capo on fret 6: the shapes Am, C, Dm, Em, F, G then sound in the right key.

Practise the key in three steps: the scale up and down, the seven chords in order, then one of the progressions above until the changes feel automatic. Ten minutes is enough.

Nearby keys