JamEaseGuitar scales › Natural Minor Scale
E♭ Natural Minor Scale – Guitar
The seven-note minor scale (the Aeolian mode): darker and more melodic than the minor pentatonic. Here it is in E♭: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.
Notes in the E♭ natural minor scale
- E♭1
- F2
- G♭b3
- A♭4
- B♭5
- C♭b6
- D♭b7
Formula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 – b7. Use it to solo over songs in E♭ minor, and over E♭ blues and rock progressions.
Same seven notes as the F♯ major scale (its relative major).
E♭ natural minor scale on the whole neck
Know the scale?
Now solo with it.
A guitar soloing course: 81 short lessons, each one ends with you jamming over a real backing track.
- From 3 notes to your own solos
- Every note on the neck, with sound and TAB
- 379 backing tracks in every key
The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB
Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.
Box 1 · frets 10–15
e|-------------------------------------------------11-13-14-| B|----------------------------------------11-12-14----------| G|----------------------------10-11-13-15-------------------| D|-------------------11-13-15-------------------------------| A|----------11-13-14----------------------------------------| E|-11-13-14-------------------------------------------------|
Box 2 · frets 1–5
e|-----------------------------1-2-4-| B|-------------------------2-4-------| G|-------------------1-3-4-----------| D|-------------1-3-4-----------------| A|-------1-2-4-----------------------| E|-1-2-4-----------------------------|
Box 3 · frets 2–8
e|-----------------------------------------2-4-6-7-| B|---------------------------------2-4-6-7---------| G|-------------------------3-4-6-8-----------------| D|-----------------3-4-6-8-------------------------| A|---------2-4-6-8---------------------------------| E|-2-4-6-7-----------------------------------------|
Box 4 · frets 5–10
e|----------------------------------------------6--7--9--| B|-------------------------------------6--7--9-----------| G|----------------------------6--8--10-------------------| D|-------------------6--8--9-----------------------------| A|----------6--8--9--------------------------------------| E|-6--7--9-----------------------------------------------|
Box 5 · frets 7–12
e|-------------------------------------------------7--9--11-| B|-------------------------------------7--9--11-12----------| G|----------------------------8--10-11----------------------| D|-------------------8--9--11-------------------------------| A|----------8--9--11----------------------------------------| E|-7--9--11-------------------------------------------------|
3 E♭ minor licks to play with it
Box 1 licks from the JamEase lick library, written for E♭ minor (h = hammer-on, p = pull-off, / = slide, b = bend, ~ = vibrato).
Root bounce
Hop off the root and back to it. Simple, and it fits almost any blues or rock track.
e|----------------| B|----------------| G|----11----------| D|-13----13-11-13-| A|----------------| E|----------------|
Rock and roll repeat
The top-string triplet loop half the rock solos ever played use.
e|-14p-11------14p-11------14p-11------11--| B|---------14----------14----------14------| G|-----------------------------------------| D|-----------------------------------------| A|-----------------------------------------| E|-----------------------------------------|
Blues curl
Nudge the minor third up a half step. That sour-sweet note is the blues.
e|----------------| B|----------------| G|-11b½-11--------| D|-----------13~--| A|----------------| E|----------------|
E♭ minor backing track
Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.
D# Minor Rock Guitar Backing Track (153 bpm) – Sweet Jam Tracks
Songs in E♭ minor
These songs are in E♭ minor, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:
- The Sound Of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
- Faded – Alan Walker
- Everything I Do I Do It For You – Bryan Adams
- Reckless Love – Cory Asbury
- A Sky Full Of Stars – Coldplay
- Nutshell – Alice In Chains
- We Found Love – Rihanna
- When I Look At You – Miley Cyrus
- In The End – Linkin Park
- Seaside – The Kooks
- Beat It – Michael Jackson
- Attention – Charlie Puth
Other scales in E♭
- E♭ Minor Pentatonic Scale
- E♭ Major Pentatonic Scale
- E♭ Blues Scale
- E♭ Major Blues Scale
- E♭ Major Scale
- E♭ Dorian Mode
- E♭ Mixolydian Mode
- E♭ Phrygian Mode
- E♭ Lydian Mode
- E♭ Harmonic Minor Scale
- E♭ Melodic Minor Scale
Natural Minor Scale in other keys
- C Natural Minor Scale
- C♯ Natural Minor Scale
- D Natural Minor Scale
- E Natural Minor Scale
- F Natural Minor Scale
- F♯ Natural Minor Scale
- G Natural Minor Scale
- G♯ Natural Minor Scale
- A Natural Minor Scale
- B♭ Natural Minor Scale
- B Natural Minor Scale
Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.
FAQ
What notes are in the Eb natural minor scale?
Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db. The formula is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7.
Where do I start playing the Eb natural minor scale on guitar?
Start with Box 1, frets 10–15. The root note Eb is on the low E string at fret 11.
What is the relative major of Eb minor?
F# major – it uses the same notes.