Bb Aeolian b5: Fretboard Guide
Bb, C, Db, Eb, Fb, Gb and Ab spell the Bb Aeolian b5 scale. Fb is the flat fifth, and on the neck it is just E.
Place the root on the 6th fret of the low E string or the 1st fret of the A string. The notes are those of Db melodic minor, started on its sixth degree, and the shapes carry over from key to key unchanged.
Play the Bb aeolian b5 scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the Bb aeolian b5 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 |
| Fb | b5 | Tritone | 6 |
| Gb | b6 | Minor 6th | 8 |
| Ab | b7 | Minor 7th | 10 |
Structure
Bb aeolian b5 scale notes:
How the aeolian b5 scale is built:
The aeolian b5 scale is built from the degrees 1 2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7, which gives the step pattern W-H-W-H-W-W-W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10. That makes it a 7-note scale.
It is mode 6 of the Melodic Minor Scale, so both scales share the same notes from a different starting point.
It is also known as Locrian #2 and Half-Diminished Scale.
Bb Aeolian b5 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 aeolian b5 scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the aeolian b5 scale, starting from a different degree.
The aeolian b5 scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
