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B♭ natural minor scale on guitar
B♭ natural minor contains B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. Box 1 places the root on string 6, fret 6, spanning frets 1–4.
How it is built
Formula 1, 2, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7
How do you play the B♭ natural minor scale on guitar?
B♭ natural minor in box 1 runs from fret 1 to fret 4, 17 notes across 6 strings, from F on the low E string at fret 1 up to A♭ on the high e string at fret 4. The root falls on the A string at fret 1 and the G string at fret 3.
Every note in this box, string by string
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 1, 2, 4 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 5 (A) | 1, 3, 4 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 4 (D) | 1, 3, 4 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 3 (G) | 1, 3 | A♭, B♭ |
| 2 (B) | 1, 2, 4 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 1 (e) | 1, 2, 4 | F, G♭, A♭ |
Box 2 · frets 4–7
B♭ natural minor in box 2 runs from fret 4 to fret 7, 13 notes across 6 strings, from A♭ on the low E string at fret 4 up to B♭ on the high e string at fret 6. The root falls on the low E string at fret 6 and the high e string at fret 6.
Every note in this box, string by string
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 4, 6 | A♭, B♭ |
| 5 (A) | 4, 6 | D♭, E♭ |
| 4 (D) | 4, 6 | G♭, A♭ |
| 3 (G) | 5, 6 | C, D♭ |
| 2 (B) | 4, 6, 7 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 1 (e) | 4, 6 | A♭, B♭ |
Box 3 · frets 6–9
B♭ natural minor in box 3 runs from fret 6 to fret 9, 16 notes across 6 strings, from B♭ on the low E string at fret 6 up to D♭ on the high e string at fret 9. The root falls on the low E string at fret 6, the D string at fret 8 and the high e string at fret 6.
Every note in this box, string by string
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 6, 8, 9 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 5 (A) | 6, 8, 9 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 4 (D) | 6, 8 | A♭, B♭ |
| 3 (G) | 6, 8 | D♭, E♭ |
| 2 (B) | 6, 7, 9 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 1 (e) | 6, 8, 9 | B♭, C, D♭ |
Box 4 · frets 8–11
B♭ natural minor in box 4 runs from fret 8 to fret 11, 17 notes across 6 strings, from C on the low E string at fret 8 up to E♭ on the high e string at fret 11. The root falls on the D string at fret 8 and the B string at fret 11.
Every note in this box, string by string
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
| 5 (A) | 8, 9, 11 | F, G♭, A♭ |
| 4 (D) | 8, 10, 11 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 3 (G) | 8, 10, 11 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 2 (B) | 9, 11 | A♭, B♭ |
| 1 (e) | 8, 9, 11 | C, D♭, E♭ |
Box 5 · frets 11–14
B♭ natural minor in box 5 runs from fret 11 to fret 14, 15 notes across 6 strings, from E♭ on the low E string at fret 11 up to G♭ on the high e string at fret 14. The root falls on the A string at fret 13 and the B string at fret 11.
Every note in this box, string by string
| String | Frets | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (E) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
| 5 (A) | 11, 13 | A♭, B♭ |
| 4 (D) | 11, 13 | D♭, E♭ |
| 3 (G) | 11, 13 | G♭, A♭ |
| 2 (B) | 11, 13, 14 | B♭, C, D♭ |
| 1 (e) | 11, 13, 14 | E♭, F, G♭ |
Why it sounds like that
B♭ natural minor is the Aeolian mode of D♭ major, built as 1, 2, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7. It adds C and G♭ to B♭ minor pentatonic. The pattern is W, H, W, W, H, W, W.
When to use it
B♭ natural minor fits B♭ minor and B♭ 5th chords. Use it in B♭ minor or D♭ major keys. It works for jazz and classical lines.
Which position to practise
Learn Box 1 first. It keeps the root on string 6, fret 6, and covers frets 1–4 for a compact lower-position pattern.
Common questions
What notes are in B♭ natural minor?
B♭ natural minor contains B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. The intervals are 1, 2, ♭3, 4, 5, ♭6, ♭7. It is the Aeolian mode of D♭ major. It is also spelled A♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.
Which chords does B♭ natural minor fit?
B♭ natural minor fits B♭ minor and B♭ 5th chords. It also works over D♭ major and G♭ major chords. Use it for minor-key progressions.
How is B♭ natural minor different from B♭ minor pentatonic?
B♭ natural minor adds C and G♭ to B♭ minor pentatonic. The pentatonic has five notes; natural minor has seven. The extra notes create a more complete minor sound.