Bb Major Scale Fretboard Guide
Only two flats, Bb and Eb, separate the Bb major scale from the natural notes: Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G and A. It is a common key for horns and for band charts, so guitarists meet it often.
Place the root on the 1st fret of the A string for a low box, or on the 6th fret of the low E string. G minor is the relative minor. Once it feels natural, a scale exercise helps you stop sounding like you are running scales.
Play the Bb major scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the Bb major scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bb | 1 | Root | 0 |
| C | 2 | Major 2nd | 2 |
| D | 3 | Major 3rd | 4 |
| Eb | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| F | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| G | 6 | Major 6th | 9 |
| A | 7 | Major 7th | 11 |
Structure
Bb major scale notes:
How the major scale is built:
The major scale is built from the degrees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, which gives the step pattern W-W-H-W-W-W-H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11. That makes it a 7-note scale.
It is the parent scale of its own modal family.
It is also known as Ionian.
Bb Major Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (A)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
3 notes per string — position 2
3 notes per string — position 3
3 notes per string — position 4
3 notes per string — position 5
Chords in the Bb major scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the major scale, starting from a different degree.
The major scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
