The 7 chords
B♭m · Cdim · D♭ · E♭m · Fm · G♭ · A♭
Every natural minor key follows the same pattern: minor, diminished, major, minor, minor, major, major.
Chord chart
B♭ Minor chord chart
| Degree | Numeral | Chord | Notes | 7th chord | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | i | B♭m | B♭ – D♭ – F | B♭m7 | Tonic |
| 2 | ii° | Cdim | C – E♭ – G♭ | Cm7b5 | Supertonic |
| 3 | III | D♭ | D♭ – F – A♭ | D♭maj7 | Mediant |
| 4 | iv | E♭m | E♭ – G♭ – B♭ | E♭m7 | Subdominant |
| 5 | v | Fm | F – A♭ – C | Fm7 | Dominant |
| 6 | VI | G♭ | G♭ – B♭ – D♭ | G♭maj7 | Submediant |
| 7 | VII | A♭ | A♭ – C – E♭ | A♭7 | Subtonic |
B♭ minor scale: B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭. Key signature: 5 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭).
Progressions
Common chord progressions in B♭ Minor
Minor pop loop
i – VI – III – VII
- iB♭m
- VIG♭
- IIID♭
- VIIA♭
The four chords of the pop progression, started on the minor chord — i, VI, III, VII in a minor key is I, V, vi, IV in its relative major.
Minor three-chord progression
i – iv – v – i
- iB♭m
- ivE♭m
- vFm
- iB♭m
The primary chords of the minor key, i, iv and v. Swap the minor v for the major V below for a stronger pull home.
Andalusian cadence
i – VII – VI – V
- iB♭m
- VIIA♭
- VIG♭
- VF
A stepwise walk down to the major V — the sound of flamenco, and of a long list of rock songs.
Descending fifths
i – iv – VII – III
- iB♭m
- ivE♭m
- VIIA♭
- IIID♭
Each root is a 5th below the one before — the circle of fifths moving through the minor key.
Rising VI – VII
i – VI – VII – i
- iB♭m
- VIG♭
- VIIA♭
- iB♭m
Climbs from the VI through the VII back home to i — a staple of rock choruses and film scores.
Minor ii – V – i
iiø7 – V7 – i7
- iiø7Cm7b5
- V7F7
- i7B♭m7
The minor-key jazz cadence. The V7 comes from the harmonic minor scale, which is what makes it resolve so strongly.
Want more? Generate a progression in B♭ Minor by style, or build your own in the Chord Progression Player.
7th chords
7th chords in the key of B♭ Minor
Add the next note of the scale on top of each chord and you get its diatonic 7th chord — the sound of jazz, soul and R&B in B♭ minor.
The major V
Why songs in B♭ minor use F, not Fm
The natural minor scale makes the v chord minor (Fm), and it only weakly leads home. Raise the scale's 7th note to A — the B♭ harmonic minor scale — and the chord becomes F major, or F7. That A sits a half step below B♭ and pulls straight to it, which is why most minor-key songs end on F → B♭m or F7 → B♭m.
On guitar
Playing in B♭ Minor on guitar
None of the 7 chords in B♭ minor is an open chord in standard tuning — every one needs a barre or a moveable shape. A capo lets you swap those for open shapes:
Capo 1 + A minor shapes
Finger Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G — they sound as B♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭, A♭. 5 of the 7 shapes are open chords.
See the A minor chordsCapo 6 + E minor shapes
Finger Em, F#dim, G, Am, Bm, C, D — they sound as B♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭, A♭. 5 of the 7 shapes are open chords.
See the E minor chords
Scales for soloing in B♭ Minor
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
The key of B♭ minor has seven chords: B♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭ and A♭. Each is built from the notes of the B♭ natural minor scale (B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G♭ A♭), so all seven share one key signature: 5 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭).
B♭m, E♭m and Fm — the i, iv and v chords. Those three contain every note of the B♭ minor scale between them, which is why so many songs in B♭ minor use little else.
D♭ major. It uses the same seven chords and the same key signature as B♭ minor; the difference is which chord feels like home. A song that keeps returning to D♭ is in D♭ major; one that settles on B♭m is in B♭ minor.
5 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭). B♭ minor shares its key signature with its relative major, D♭ major.
The natural B♭ minor scale gives a minor v chord, Fm, which only weakly leads home. Raising the scale's 7th note to A (the harmonic minor scale) turns it into F major, or F7, whose A sits a half step below B♭ and pulls straight to it. Most minor-key songs use the major V at cadences.
B♭m7, Cm7b5, D♭maj7, E♭m7, Fm7, G♭maj7 and A♭7. Each adds the next note of the scale on top of the triad, which gives three minor 7ths, two major 7ths, one dominant 7th and one half-diminished (m7♭5).
Stacking the scale notes on C gives C, E♭, G♭: a minor 3rd and then another minor 3rd, so the 5th is flattened. It is the least-used chord in the key — songs often skip it, or use E♭m where it would go.
Use a capo. None of the 7 chords in B♭ minor are open chords, but with a capo on fret 1 you can play A minor shapes (Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G) and they sound in B♭ minor. 5 of those shapes are open chords.
Yes — the same pitches, spelled two ways. B♭ minor is written with 5 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭); A# minor with 7 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯, B♯). Its chords are A#m, B#dim (Cdim), C#, D#m, E#m (Fm), F# and G#, and on guitar they use exactly the same shapes as the chords on this page.
Related Tools
Circle of FifthsSee every key, its relative minor and its neighbours on one wheelKey FinderPaste a progression and detect its key with Roman numeral analysisChord Progression GeneratorPick a key and style to generate a diatonic progressionCapo CalculatorFind the capo position to play any key with open shapes