Scales
Ab Minor Scale
Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb
The natural minor scale — the major scale’s darker sibling, and the same seven notes read from a different starting point.
Also called Ab Aeolian · Ab natural minor
Ab Minor Scale
Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb
Fingering on the piano
| Hand | Fingering | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 | Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab | |
| Left hand | 3 2 1 3 2 1 4 3 | Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab |
One octave ascending; 1 is the thumb. A standard fingering, not the only one.
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Scale degrees
Ab Minor is made of the notes Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb. Each is a degree counted from the tonic, and the gaps between them are the step pattern W H W W H W W.
Read on: scale degrees · building any scale · the three minors
Chords in this key
Stacking thirds on each degree of Ab Minor gives the chords of the key; the roman numeral names the degree each is built on.
Triads
Progressions in this key
The stock progressions of a minor key, each numeral resolved to its chord in Ab Minor. A capital V borrows the raised seventh of the harmonic minor; the natural minor’s own dominant is the minor v.
i–♭VI–♭III–♭VIIAbm · FbM · CbM · Gb
i–♭VII–♭VI–♭VIIAbm · Gb · FbM · Gb
i–iv–v–iAbm · Dbm · Ebm · Abm
i–iv–V–iAbm · Dbm · Eb · Abmharmonic minor
ii°–V–iBbdim · Eb · Abmharmonic minor
i–♭VI–iv–VAbm · FbM · Dbm · Ebharmonic minor
Related scales
The scales Ab Minor shares its notes with: the one it is a rotation of, the relative and parallel keys, the scales inside it and the ones that contain it.
Ab MajorAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · G
Parallel: the same tonic, the other modality
G# MinorG# · A# · B · C# · D# · E · F#
The same sound, spelled from the enharmonic root
Scales inside it
Ab EgyptianAb · Bb · Db · Eb · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Ab Minor.
Ab Vietnamese 1Ab · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb
Every note of this scale is in Ab Minor.
Ab HirajoshiAb · Bb · Cb · Eb · Fb
Every note of this scale is in Ab Minor.
Ab Malkos RagaAb · Cb · Db · Fb · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Ab Minor.
Ab Minor PentatonicAb · Cb · Db · Eb · Gb
Every note of this scale is in Ab Minor.
Scales that contain it
Ab Minor BebopAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · G
Contains every note of Ab Minor.
Understanding Ab Minor
Names and spellings
Ab Minor is also called Ab Aeolian, Ab natural minor; every one of those names means exactly these notes.
“Minor scale” on its own means this one, the natural minor, which is also the Aeolian mode. The harmonic minor raises its seventh and the melodic minor raises its sixth and seventh on the way up; the three are different scales, and a chart that says only “minor” means this one.
Ab Minor and G# Minor are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. G# Minor
How it is built
On Ab the scale is Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb, following the step pattern W H W W H W W. Compared with the major scale on the same tonic it flattens the third, sixth and seventh degrees.
It is identical in content to its relative major — the notes of Ab Minor starting from the sixth degree — but starting on a different note changes which one the ear treats as home, and with it the whole character.
How it is used
Its flattened seventh is a whole step below the tonic, not a semitone, so it has no leading tone and no strong pull home. That is why minor-key writing so often borrows a raised seventh from the harmonic minor when it needs a real cadence.
Left unaltered it is the modal minor sound of folk, rock and film — settled rather than yearning.
Learn this properly
Chapter 7: Scales: Major and MinorCommon questions
- What notes are in the Ab Minor?
- The Ab Minor contains Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb. Find every scale that contains these notes with the scale finder.
- What is the natural minor scale formula?
- Whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole — written W H W W H W W.
- What is the relative major of Ab minor?
- The Ab Minor, which shares the same seven notes and the same key signature.
- How do I play Ab Minor?
- On guitar start with the 1st position, played from the lowest string upward; the instrument panel on this page shows its frets and the positions further up the neck. On the piano the right hand ascends 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3, with 1 as the thumb. Every position plays when you press it.
- What chords are in the key of Ab Minor?
- Stacking thirds on each degree of Ab Minor gives Abm (i), Bbdim (ii°), CbM (III), Dbm (iv), Ebm (v), FbM (VI), Gb (VII). These are the diatonic chords of the key, the ones a song in this key uses most; the harmony band on this page lists them with the seventh chords built the same way.