The key of B minor on guitar
B C♯ D E F♯ G A — and everything inside it.
The key of B minor on guitar: the scale, the chord on every degree, the seventh chords and the pentatonics — drawn above, each a tap away. The row of chips over the guitar is the key’s chords; the dropdown switches it to seventh chords or pentatonics, the shape menu draws a chord as one grip at a time, and a tap on any note finds the chords that hold it. For the why, read chords in a key, the minor scale.
The notes of B minor
B minor is B C♯ D E F♯ G A: the minor scale on B, seven notes, labeled 1 to 7 on the guitar above. The scale on its own, in every position, is on its page.
The chords in B minor
The triad on each degree, stacked from the key’s own notes; the numeral’s case is the chord’s quality. The explorer above draws the six you can rest on.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| i | Bm | B D F♯ |
| ii° | C♯° — passed through, not rested on | C♯ E G |
| III | D | D F♯ A |
| iv | Em | E G B |
| v | F♯m | F♯ A C♯ |
| VI | G | G B D |
| VII | A | A C♯ E |
The seventh chords in B minor
One more third on each — the row on “Tetrads” above.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| i7 | Bm7 | B D F♯ A |
| iiø7 | C♯m7♭5 — passed through, not rested on | C♯ E G B |
| IIImaj7 | Dmaj7 | D F♯ A C♯ |
| iv7 | Em7 | E G B D |
| v7 | F♯m7 | F♯ A C♯ E |
| VImaj7 | Gmaj7 | G B D F♯ |
| VII7 | A7 | A C♯ E G |
The pentatonics in B minor
The five-note scale on each degree that fits inside the key — major where the degree’s chord is major, minor where it is minor. The row on “Pentatonics” above.
| Degree | Scale | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| i | Bm pent | B D E F♯ A |
| ii | C♯m pent — not in the key | C♯ E F♯ A♭ B |
| III | D pent | D E F♯ A B |
| iv | Em pent | E G A B D |
| v | F♯m pent | F♯ A B C♯ E |
| VI | G pent | G A B D E |
| VII | A pent | A B C♯ E F♯ |
The same notes from another home
Relative major: D major. Parallel major, the same root with different notes: B major.