B natural minor scale
- Notes
- B C# D E F# G A
- Formula
- 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
- Steps
- W H W W H W W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- B Aeolian, B minor
Seven notes from B up to the next B. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
B natural minor on the piano
From B4 to B5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from B
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| B | 1 | root | 0 |
| C# | 2 | major second | 2 |
| D | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| E | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| F# | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| G | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| A | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
B natural minor on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
The seven chords of B natural minor
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on B, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Bm | B D F# | |
| ii° | C#dim | C# E G | |
| bIII | D | D F# A | |
| iv | Em | E G B | |
| v | F#m | F# A C# | |
| bVI | G | G B D | |
| bVII | A | A C# E |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
B natural minor uses exactly the same notes as C# Locrian, D major, E Dorian, F# Phrygian, G Lydian and A Mixolydian. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
The chords, progressions and a capo tip for this scale as a key are on the B minor key page.
How B natural minor is built
The natural minor has the same seven notes as D major, its relative major, started from the 6th note. Against B major three notes are a semitone lower: D# becomes D, G# becomes G and A# becomes A. Aeolian is the modal name of this same scale, so it gets no page of its own.
Its 7th, A, is a whole tone below B, so the chord on the 5th note is minor and pulls home only weakly. Most music in B minor raises it to A# for the V chord: that is the B harmonic minor scale.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.