There are three variations of the minor scale: the natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor. For this post, we will focus on the B Flat Natural Minor Scale, but you can explore the B Flat Harmonic Minor and B Flat Melodic Minor in our other articles.
Contents
HOW TO CREATE THE B FLAT NATURAL MINOR SCALE
The scale with B Flat Minor is composed of seven notes, namely Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Gb and Ab. The Bb Minor scale typically starts and ends on the note Bb, and can be played at higher or lower octaves. This scale is considered diatonic, meaning it belongs to a specific key – in this case, the key of B flat Minor.
All Natural Minor scales adhere to a specific sequence of tones and semitones. The pattern is as follows: Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone. If we begin with the note C and follow this pattern, we obtain the C Natural Minor Scale. To construct the B flat Natural Minor scale, we apply the tone/semitone pattern starting from the note Bb. Regardless of the starting note, following this pattern will always yield a minor scale beginning on that note.
B FLAT NATURAL MINOR SCALE ON THE PIANO
As you can see, if we were to play this scale on the piano diagram we use five black keys for each of the 5 flats..
To play this scale on the piano use the fingers written below.
B FLAT NATURAL MINOR SCALE ON THE GUITAR
You can use the tab below to play the Bb Natural Minor scale on the guitar
DEGREES OF THE SCALE
Within the Bb Minor scale, each note has a specific position, which is referred to as the degree of the scale. The initial note of the scale is known as the ‘tonic’ note.
KEY SIGNATURE FOR Bb MINOR
Instead of notating each flat sign on individual notes, we can utilize the key signature. Bb Minor is considered the relative minor of D flat Major. This relationship can be determined by recognizing that B flat is the sixth note of the D flat Major scale. As a result, both scales share the same key signature and contain five flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, Db and Gb.
B FLAT MINOR SCALE IN DIFFERENT CLEFS
Treble Clef
Below is the Bb Natural Minor Scale written out in the treble clef, both ascending and descending.
Bass Clef
Below is the Bb Natural Minor Scale written out in the bass clef, both ascending and descending.
Alto Clef
Below is the Bb Natural Minor Scale written out in the alto clef, both ascending and descending.
Tenor Clef
Below is the Bb Natural Minor Scale written out in the tenor clef, both ascending and descending.
When we say that a musical composition is in the key of Bb Minor, it implies several things.
- The key signature for a piece in Bb minor will contain five flats, as D flat Major is its relative major.
- The note Bb will serve as the tonic, or root note, and will provide the most stable sound throughout the piece.
- The majority of notes used in the piece will be derived from the Bb Minor scale, which can be played in any octave.
- The chords used in the piece will be those that belong to the Bb Minor scale.
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