Aeolian (natural minor) · B♭ · Piano
The B♭ Aeolian scale is B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ — formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7, step pattern W–H–W–W–H–W–W. Use it over B♭m7: it is the scale for the tonic minor chord (i7) and vi chords; the natural-minor sound. Below, every note is marked on the two-octave keyboard; press play to hear it on a synthesized piano while each note lights up, or tap any key to sound that note.
Visualizer
Piano
Guitar · standard tuning
Tap any note on the diagram to hear it. Play loops the scale up and down one octave in eighth notes (switch Loop off for a single pass). “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Degree | Note | Interval from B♭ | Step to next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B♭ | unison (0 semitones) | W |
| 2 | C | major 2nd (2 semitones) | H |
| ♭3 | D♭ | minor 3rd (3 semitones) | W |
| 4 | E♭ | perfect 4th (5 semitones) | W |
| 5 | F | perfect 5th (7 semitones) | H |
| ♭6 | G♭ | minor 6th (8 semitones) | W |
| ♭7 | A♭ | minor 7th (10 semitones) | W |
Chord it implies: B♭m7 (B♭ – D♭ – F – A♭). Use it for: the tonic minor chord (i7) and vi chords; the natural-minor sound.
Common questions
B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭. As scale degrees: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7. It has 7 notes.
B♭ Aeolian fits B♭m7 and, more generally, the tonic minor chord (i7) and vi chords; the natural-minor sound.
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 — the step pattern from the root is W H W W H W W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Play B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭ B♭ ascending from the root, then descend. The keyboard above shows every root in gold, chord tones outlined in amber and the remaining scale tones in teal; use the Play button to hear the fingering tempo.
Keep going
Same scale on guitar · all Aeolian pages: Aeolian (natural minor) hub · practise it in context: ii–V–I trainer · theory: chord-scale theory.
Other scales from B♭