Bb Melodic Minor: Fretboard Guide
The Bb melodic minor scale contains Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, G and A. It is Bb major with a flat 3rd, and the G and A are the raised 6th and 7th that smooth out the climb.
The root closest to the nut is on the 1st fret of the A string, and the 6th fret of the low E string gives a second spot. The tonic chord is Bbm(maj7). To blend it with other sounds, major and minor scale blends are a good place to start.
Play the Bb melodic minor scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the Bb melodic minor scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bb | 1 | Root | 0 |
| C | 2 | Major 2nd | 2 |
| Db | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| Eb | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| F | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| G | 6 | Major 6th | 9 |
| A | 7 | Major 7th | 11 |
Structure
Bb melodic minor scale notes:
How the melodic minor scale is built:
The melodic minor scale is built from the degrees 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7, which gives the step pattern W-H-W-W-W-W-H (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 3, 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 Jazz Minor.
Bb Melodic Minor 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 melodic minor scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the melodic minor scale, starting from a different degree.
The melodic minor scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
