The Key of B♭ Minor for Guitar
The key of B♭ minor has the notes B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭, 5 flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭), and its relative major is D♭ major.
- Chords
- B♭m Cdim D♭ E♭m Fm G♭ A♭
- Main three
- B♭m E♭m Fm
- Key signature of B♭ minor
- 5 flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭)
Chords in the key
Chords in B♭ minor · moved from B♭ minor · · tap to hear1 home chord of the key
35 on the 3rd and 5th
2 other degrees
Now sounding
Key · Capo
Showing: B♭ minor (page key)No capo: you play B♭ minor shapes as written.
Fretboard · B♭ minor scale
Tap a dot to hear it; it lights amber while it sounds. Brightest dot = 1, the root (B♭). Lighter grey = 3 and 5. High e on top, frets 0 to 12, no capo. Swipe the board sideways for frets 7 to 12.
Progression · i–VI–III–VII
Stopped. Four beats per chord, strum D D U D.
Chords in B♭ minor, with notes
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| i | B♭m | B♭ D♭ F |
| ii° | Cdim | C E♭ G♭ |
| III | D♭ | D♭ F A♭ |
| iv | E♭m | E♭ G♭ B♭ |
| v | Fm | F A♭ C |
| VI | G♭ | G♭ B♭ D♭ |
| VII | A♭ | A♭ C E♭ |
Seventh chords in B♭ minor
Add the next scale note a third above each triad and you get the four-note seventh chords of the key.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| i7 | B♭m7 | B♭ D♭ F A♭ |
| iiø7 | Cm7♭5 | C E♭ G♭ B♭ |
| IIImaj7 | D♭maj7 | D♭ F A♭ C |
| iv7 | E♭m7 | E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ |
| v7 | Fm7 | F A♭ C E♭ |
| VImaj7 | G♭maj7 | G♭ B♭ D♭ F |
| VII7 | A♭7 | A♭ C E♭ G♭ |
Shapes and voicings for every chord: chord directory.
Why B♭ minor has 5 flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭)
Every minor scale uses the same step pattern: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. Start that pattern on B♭ and the notes land on B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭, so the key needs B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ and G♭. On one string a whole step is two frets and a half step is one fret, up to the octave at fret 12.
B♭ minor scale in first position
Every note of B♭ minor in frets 0 to 4. Play one finger per fret: fret 1 = finger 1, fret 2 = finger 2, fret 3 = finger 3, fret 4 = finger 4, open strings need no finger. Start on the lowest root, B♭ on the 5th string, fret 1, and play up string by string.
Tap a dot to hear it. High e on top; the brightest dot is the root.
Past fret 4: B♭ minor scale in every position up the neck, with play-along and a root drone. Pentatonic, blues and the modes work over these chords too: see all guitar scales.
Playing in B♭ minor on guitar
B♭ minor has five flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭) and shares them with D♭ major. None of the six open strings is a note of the scale: each open string is a half step from one (E next to E♭ and F, A next to A♭ and B♭, and so on), so this is the least open-string-friendly minor key on a standard-tuned guitar.
Without a capo every chord is a barre. B♭m is the A-shape minor barre at fret 1 (x 1 3 3 2 1); E♭m and Fm are barres at frets 6 and 1; D♭, G♭ and A♭ are major barres; Cdim is rare in songs. D♭ also has a C-shape grip at the first frets (x 4 3 1 2 1).
The fix is one fret of capo. Everything in A minor, the most common first minor key, moves up a half step and sounds in B♭ minor, including the E or E7 that many A minor songs use as the V. Here that chord is F or F7, with the A natural from the harmonic minor scale.
Common progressions in B♭ minor
| Degrees | Chords | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| i–VI–III–VII | B♭m G♭ D♭ A♭ | B♭m G♭ D♭ A♭: no open chords at all, but with capo 1 the loop is Am F C G. |
| i–iv–v–i | B♭m E♭m Fm B♭m | B♭m E♭m Fm B♭m: as Am Dm Em Am under capo 1. Songs often swap Fm for F7 (1 3 1 2 1 1). |
| i–VII–VI–VII | B♭m A♭ G♭ A♭ | B♭m A♭ G♭ A♭: the falling rock loop; capo 6 makes it Em D C D. |
| i–iv–VII–III | B♭m E♭m A♭ D♭ | B♭m E♭m A♭ D♭: a fifths run that lands on D♭, the relative major. |
Pick one in the player above and press Play to strum along, four beats per chord.
Capo and B♭ minor
Capo 1 with Am shapes is the way most guitarists play in B♭ minor: Am, Dm, Em, F, C and G sound as B♭m, E♭m, Fm, G♭, D♭ and A♭. Capo 6 with Em shapes gives a second, higher set of open voicings.
| Capo | B♭m shapes sound in |
|---|---|
| Fret 1 | B minor |
| Fret 2 | C minor |
| Fret 3 | C♯ minor |
| Fret 4 | D minor |
| Fret 5 | E♭ minor |
| Fret 6 | E minor |
| Fret 7 | F minor |
Song in another key? Capo for B♭ minor songs: the capo fret and easier shapes, or any other key.
New to the capo? How to use a capo: where to clamp it and why the same shapes sound in a new key.
Relative major: D♭ major
D♭ major uses the same seven notes, starting on D♭, the 3rd note of the scale. Its chord is the III in the row above. Songs often move between the two keys without changing a single chord shape.
Have a recording and no idea what key it is in? Find the key of a song from the audio file or by letting it listen; it also gives the chords to play and the easiest capo.
Related keys
- The key of D♭ majorrelative
- The key of B♭ majorparallel
- The key of E♭ minorcircle, one step left
- The key of F minorcircle, one step right
See how every key connects: interactive circle of fifths.
FAQ about B♭ minor
What chords are in the key of B♭ minor?
B♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭ and A♭. With no capo, all of them are barre chords.
How do I play in B♭ minor without barre chords?
Capo 1, then play A minor shapes: Am for B♭m, Dm for E♭m, Em for Fm, and F, C, G for G♭, D♭, A♭.
Is B♭ minor the same as A♯ minor?
They sound the same. B♭ minor uses five flats, A♯ minor would need seven sharps, so B♭ minor is the spelling you will see.
What is the relative major of B♭ minor?
D♭ major, with the same five flats. D♭ is the III chord of B♭ minor.
Next steps in B♭ minor
- Progressions in B♭ minorgenerate, hear and loop chord progressions in this key
- B♭ minor pentatonicthe five-note soloing scale
- B♭ harmonic minorraised 7th: where the major V chord comes from
- Guitar tunertune up before you play along