STRINGSCALES

B minor Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

A string: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

D string: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D at frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12

G string: G, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

B string: B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A, B at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

High E string: E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12

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B minor

The minor scale, also called natural minor or aeolian, shares its notes with the major scale three frets up but centers them on a darker home chord. The flat 3rd sets the minor sound, and the flat 6th gives it the heavy, melancholic pull that drives rock, metal and film ballads. Compare it with the harmonic and melodic minor, which each raise degrees to strengthen the resolution to the root.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

B

i

Bm
C♯

ii°

C♯dim
D

bIII

Dmaj
E

iv

Em
F♯

v

F♯m
G

bVI

Gmaj
A

bVII

Amaj

Characteristic note: G (b6), the flat sixth that separates natural minor from dorian.

Same notes, different mode

B minor uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

C# locrianD major · relative majorE dorianF# phrygianG lydianA mixolydian

minor in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Anchor your B minor phrases on the flat 3rd (D) and flat 7th (A); they are what separate the minor sound from B major.
  • Let the flat 6th (G) fall to the 5th (F#) at phrase endings for the classic minor lament.
  • Solo over a i-bVI-bVII vamp in B minor: all three chords live inside the scale, so every scale tone works somewhere.
  • Swap to B harmonic minor on the V chord (raise bVII (A) to VII) to hear why that raised 7th exists, then fall back to natural minor on the i.

How to play B minor on guitar

Open B hands over the root on the second string, and all six opens sit inside the key, so unfretted notes work everywhere in this scale. A capo at fret 2 maps the whole key onto A minor shapes, which lets campfire fingerings cover two sharps. Low root lives at fret 7 on the low E string, matched by the E-shape barre. D major runs the same fingering three frets up.

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