A♭ Natural minorScale · A♭ Aeolian

Formula

W H W W H W W 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
The family

A♭ Natural minor on the chromatic circle

A♭ Natural minor is the 6th mode of the Major family. Pick another note on the circle to open the scale that starts there.

W W H W W W H ♭3 C♭I Ionian 4 D♭II Dorian 5 E♭III Phrygian ♭6 F♭IV Lydian ♭7 G♭V Mixolydian 1 A♭VI Aeolian 2 B♭VII Locrian A♭ Aeolian
The whole neck

A♭ Natural minor across the fretboard

Every note of the scale up to the 16th fret, named by its degree. The root is a ring. Step through the five CAGED positions one at a time in the scale library.

3 5 7 9 12 15 ♭6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 ♭6 ♭7 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
Harmony

Chords in A♭ Natural minor

Stack every other note of the scale from each degree and you get its chords. Open any of them in the chord library.

DegreeChordNotes
iA♭m7A♭ C♭ E♭ G♭
ii°B♭m7♭5B♭ D♭ F♭ A♭
♭IIIC♭maj7C♭ E♭ G♭ B♭
ivD♭m7D♭ F♭ A♭ C♭
vE♭m7E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭
♭VIF♭maj7F♭ A♭ C♭ E♭
♭VIIG♭7G♭ B♭ D♭ F♭
Context

Where A♭ Natural minor fits

Natural minor: rock, pop and metal in minor keys, over progressions like i–♭VI–♭VII and i–iv–v.

A♭ Natural minor is mode 6 of the major family. The same notes played from each of its other degrees give the family's other modes:

Move one note by a half step and you get a different scale:

Natural minor scale in every key

A♭ Natural minor scale questions

What notes are in the A♭ Natural minor scale?

A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭. As degrees from the root: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7.

What is the A♭ Natural minor scale formula?

1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7, or in steps between the notes, W H W W H W W (W is a whole step of two frets, H a half step of one fret, 1½ three frets).

How do you play the A♭ Natural minor scale on guitar?

This page draws every note of A♭ Natural minor up to the 16th fret, each named by its degree with the root as a ring. To learn it a few frets at a time, open it in the scale library and step through its five CAGED positions, from the G shape to the E shape to the D shape to the C shape to the A shape.

What chords are in the A♭ Natural minor scale?

A♭m7 (i), B♭m7♭5 (ii°), C♭maj7 (♭III), D♭m7 (iv), E♭m7 (v), F♭maj7 (♭VI), G♭7 (♭VII).

When is the A♭ Natural minor scale used?

Natural minor: rock, pop and metal in minor keys, over progressions like i–♭VI–♭VII and i–iv–v.