What notes are in Ebm?

Ebm contains Eb · Gb · Bb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.

How do you build a minor chord?

Stack a minor third and then a major third above the root — the reverse of a major triad.

Why do minor chords sound sad?

The minor third sits further from the simple overtone ratios than the major third, so the chord reads as darker. The association with sadness is learned, but the acoustic difference is real.

What notes are in the Eb Minor chord?

The Eb Minor chord contains the notes Eb · Gb · Bb: the root Eb with the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Eb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Eb Minor chord?

Measured from Eb, the Eb Minor chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

Eb Minor Chord (Ebm): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	Eb3 · Gb3 · Bb3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Eb Minor (Ebm) contains the notes Eb · Gb · Bb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built

Inversions

An inversion of Eb Minor puts a chord tone other than Eb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Eb Minor belongs to.

In which keys

Eb Minor is diatonic to 7 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

B majoriiiTonic
G# minorvDominant
F# majorviTonic
D# minoriTonic
Db majoriiSubdominant
Bb minorivSubdominant
G minorviSubdominant

Scales that contain it

Eb Minor fits inside these scales, each built on Eb.

Eb Minor PentatonicEb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Db
Eb Major BluesEb · F · Gb · G · Bb · C
Eb MinorEb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
Eb Melodic MinorEb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · C · D
Eb Harmonic MinorEb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · D
Eb DorianEb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb · C · Db
Eb PhrygianEb · Fb · Gb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
Eb Half-Whole DiminishedEb · Fb · Gb · G · A · Bb · C · Db

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Eb Minor: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Eb5Eb · Bb

Richer

EbmMaj7Eb · Gb · Bb · D
Ebm7Eb · Gb · Bb · Db
Ebm6Eb · Gb · Bb · C
Ebmadd9Eb · Gb · Bb · F
Eb7#9Eb · G · Bb · Db · F#
Ebm9Eb · Gb · Bb · Db · F

Common substitutions

GbGb · Bb · Db
Gb is the relative major of Ebm.

Minor on every root

Cm C#m Dbm Dm D#m Em Fm F#m Gm G#m Abm Am A#m Bbm Bm

Open it in a tool

Understanding the Eb Minor chord

Names and symbols

Ebm is the chord symbol for Eb Minor; it is also written Ebmin, Eb-.

Eb Minor and D# Minor are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. D# Minor

How it is built

On Eb the minor triad is Eb · Gb · Bb, stacking the intervals 1P · 3m · 5P. It is a major triad with its third lowered by a semitone, and that single change is the whole difference.

How it is used

It is the tonic of its own minor key and the ii, iii and vi of the relative major. The vi chord in particular is what makes the I–V–vi–IV progression work: it is the moment a bright progression turns inward without leaving the key.

Learn this properly

Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and Sevenths

Common questions

What notes are in Ebm?: Ebm contains Eb · Gb · Bb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
How do you build a minor chord?: Stack a minor third and then a major third above the root — the reverse of a major triad.
Why do minor chords sound sad?: The minor third sits further from the simple overtone ratios than the major third, so the chord reads as darker. The association with sadness is learned, but the acoustic difference is real.
What notes are in the Eb Minor chord?: The Eb Minor chord contains the notes Eb · Gb · Bb: the root Eb with the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Eb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Eb Minor chord?: Measured from Eb, the Eb Minor chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3m, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.