Minor scales · B flat melodic minor
B♭ melodic minor scale
The B♭ melodic minor scale (B flat melodic minor) is B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G A B♭ going up, B♭ A♭ G♭ F E♭ D♭ C B♭ coming down. It uses the key signature of D♭ major, five flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ and G♭), and raises the sixth and seventh notes on the way up only. Here it is for both hands with the standard fingering.
- 5 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭
- Relative major: D♭ major
- RH 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4
- LH 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2
Listen with the cursor following the notes, or play along: the music waits for each note, and the keys show which finger to use.
The notes
B♭ minor has five flats, the key signature of D♭ major, its relative major.
| Degree | Going up | Coming down | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | RH | LH | Note | RH | LH | |
| 1Tonic | B♭ | 4 | 2 | B♭ | 4 | 2 |
| 2Supertonic | C | 1 | 1 | C | 1 | 1 |
| 3Mediant | D♭ | 2 | 3 | D♭ | 2 | 3 |
| 4Subdominant | E♭ | 3 | 2 | E♭ | 3 | 2 |
| 5Dominant | F | 1 | 1 | F | 1 | 1 |
| 6Submediant | G | 2 | 4 | G♭ | 2 | 4 |
| 7Leading note | A | 3 | 3 | A♭ | 3 | 3 |
| 8Tonic | B♭ | 4 | 2 | B♭ | 4 | 2 |
Key signature
B♭ minor has five flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ and G♭) in its key signature, the same as D♭ major, its relative major. The melodic minor adds two accidentals going up, G and A, and takes them back coming down.
What makes it melodic minor
The melodic minor raises the sixth and seventh notes going up, G♭ to G and A♭ to A, so it climbs smoothly to the tonic, without the harmonic minor’s gap. Going up, it differs from B♭ major only in its third note, D♭.
Coming down, it is the natural minor: A♭ and G♭ again, written here with courtesy accidentals. (Jazz players use the ascending form both ways, and call it the jazz minor.)
Fingering
Right hand: 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 going up. Going up, the thumb passes under the fourth finger from B♭ to C and the thumb passes under the third finger from E♭ to F. The fourth finger plays B♭: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is.
Left hand: 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 going up. Going up, the third finger crosses over the thumb from C to D♭ and the fourth finger crosses over the thumb from F to G. The fourth finger plays G: once per octave, a good landmark for where the hand is.
The right hand starts on its fourth finger, as in B♭ major, with the thumbs on C and F. The left hand starts on its second finger, the thumb on C, and crosses its fourth finger onto G♭.
Chords in B♭ minor
The triads built on each note of the scale going up. Most music in a minor key mixes chords from all three forms; the ones below are the melodic minor’s.
- i B♭ minor
- ii C minor
- III+ D♭ augmented
- IV E♭ major
- V F major
- vi° G diminished
- vii° A diminished
Music in B♭ minor
- Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35, with the Funeral March
- Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31
- Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1
How to practise it
- Hands separately first, slowly, saying the finger numbers. Fingering learned slowly stays; fingering found at speed changes every time.
- Practise the thumb crossings alone: play just the notes either side of each crossing, back and forth, until the thumb is in place before it’s needed.
- Then hands together, one octave, then two. The hands cross their thumbs at different places, which is what makes scales hands together hard at first.
- Use “Play along” above: it waits for each note, so you can check every note and finger at your own pace. Then Listen at ♩ = 72 and play with it.
Quick answers
- What are the notes of the B flat melodic minor scale?
- B♭ C D♭ E♭ F G A B♭ going up, B♭ A♭ G♭ F E♭ D♭ C B♭ coming down.
- What is the fingering for the B flat melodic minor scale?
- Going up one octave from B♭: right hand 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4, left hand 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 2. Coming down: right hand 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4, left hand 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2. 1 is the thumb.
- What key signature does B♭ minor have?
- Five flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ and G♭), the same as its relative major, D♭ major.
Scales, then real music
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