Eb minor the chords in the key
- Scale
- Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db
- Key signature
- six flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb
- Relative major
- Gb major, whose page is F# major (same notes)
- Also written
- D# minor (six sharps: F# C# G# D# A# E#): the same sounds, spelled from D#
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Ebm | Eb Gb Bb | |
| ii° | Fdim | F Ab Cb | |
| III | Gb (same notes, spelled F# on its chord page) | Gb Bb Db | |
| iv | Abm (same notes, spelled G#m on its chord page) | Ab Cb Eb | |
| v | Bbm | Bb Db F | |
| VI | Cb (same notes, spelled B on its chord page) | Cb Eb Gb | |
| VII | Db | Db F Ab |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i7 | Ebm7 | Eb Gb Bb Db | |
| iiø7 | Fm7b5 | F Ab Cb Eb | |
| IIImaj7 | Gbmaj7 | Gb Bb Db F | |
| iv7 | Abm7 (same notes, spelled G#m7 on its chord page) | Ab Cb Eb Gb | |
| v7 | Bbm7 | Bb Db F Ab | |
| VImaj7 | Cbmaj7 (same notes, spelled Bmaj7 on its chord page) | Cb Eb Gb Bb | |
| VII7 | Db7 | Db F Ab Cb |
V and V7: the raised-seventh V most songs use
From the harmonic minor scale: the seventh note raised a semitone, Db to D.
Common progressions in Eb minor
- i–iv–v straight from the natural minor scale(same notes on the chord pages: Abm is spelled G#m)
- i–VI–III–VII the minor pop loop(same notes on the chord pages: Cb is spelled B; Gb is spelled F#)
- i–iv–V with the raised-seventh V, which pulls harder back to i(same notes on the chord pages: Abm is spelled G#m)
On guitar
Capo 6. With a capo on fret 6, play the open shapes Am for Ebm, Dm for Abm, E for Bb: they sound as the i, iv and V (Ebm, Abm and Bb). The VI chord, Cb, does not become an open shape at that fret.
How the chords of Eb minor work
Eb minor uses the notes Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db, six flats: Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb: the natural minor scale, the same notes as Gb major (its page is F# major), its relative major. Its chords from the scale are i Ebm, ii° Fdim, III Gb, iv Abm, v Bbm, VI Cb, VII Db.
In practice most songs in Eb minor play Bb or Bb7 as the V chord instead of Bbm: raising Db to D gives a note a semitone below Eb that pulls back to it. That raised seventh comes from the harmonic minor scale (Eb F Gb Ab Bb Cb D). So a song with both Db and Bb in it is still in Eb minor, and the finder counts Bb and Bb7 as belonging to this key.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative major, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.