E♭ melodic minor scale (D♯ melodic minor)
E♭ melodic minor scale is E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – C – D, with E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭. Formula 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7. Hit play and watch it light up on both instruments.
Notes and steps
Counted in steps it goes W H W W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step). The half steps fall between F–G♭ and D–E♭.
| Degree | Note | Interval from E♭ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E♭ | root | |
| 2 | F | major second | |
| ♭3 | G♭ | minor third | |
| 4 | A♭ | perfect fourth | |
| 5 | B♭ | perfect fifth | |
| 6 | C | major sixth | |
| 7 | D | major seventh |
What E♭ melodic minor sounds like
Melodic minor raises both the 6th and the 7th of natural minor. Classical teaching uses it going up and natural minor coming down; jazz players use this ascending form both ways, so that's what's shown here.
Its chords include A♭ and B♭, both with major thirds, so a melody in E♭ melodic minor can sit over a major IV and V while the tonic stays E♭m.
Compared with E♭ natural minor scale, E♭ melodic minor scale has C and D where the other has C♭ and D♭; the other five notes are shared. Hear E♭ natural minor scale and compare.
Playing E♭ melodic minor
Keyboard players: four black (E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭), three white.
On guitar the root sits at the 11th fret of the low E string. The box above covers frets 9–15 and holds 18 notes of the scale across all six strings; play it low string to high.
Chords built on each note
Stack every other note of the scale on each degree and you get 7 chords. These are the chords that fit E♭ melodic minor scale; the ones that differ from the major set are what give the scale its color. Tap to hear each one.
Moving it around the guitar
Anchor points for E♭: low E string fret 11, A string fret 6. Five overlapping fingerings cover the neck, starting near frets 1, 4, 6, 8 and 11 on the low E string. Classical teaching plays it with the raised notes going up and natural minor coming down; jazz players keep it the same both ways.
On the piano, E♭ melodic minor scale uses 4 black keys (E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭) and 3 white.
Thirds make the scale sound musical instead of step-by-step: E♭–G♭, F–A♭, G♭–B♭, A♭–C, B♭–D, C–E♭, D–F.
Drills for E♭ melodic minor
Running a scale straight up and down only teaches the order. These patterns use the same 7 notes and train your ear and fingers to jump around inside E♭ melodic minor scale.
- Up in threes: E♭ F G♭ · F G♭ A♭ · G♭ A♭ B♭ · A♭ B♭ C · B♭ C D · C D E♭.
- Target C: E♭ C E♭ C E♭: the raised 6th and 7th make the top half sound major.
Close relatives of E♭ melodic minor scale
Melodic minor scale in every key
E♭ melodic minor scale: questions
What are the notes of the E♭ melodic minor scale?
E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C, D, E♭. As degrees: 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7.
How many sharps or flats are in the E♭ melodic minor scale?
Four: E♭, G♭, A♭ and B♭.
What chords are in the E♭ melodic minor scale?
Stacking thirds on each note gives E♭m (i), Fm (ii), G♭aug (III+), A♭ (IV), B♭ (V), Cdim (vi°) and Ddim (vii°).
What's the difference between E♭ melodic minor scale and E♭ natural minor scale?
C and D in E♭ melodic minor; C♭ and D♭ in the other. Everything else is the same.
Every note on this page is computed from 1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7 and tested. Updated September 2026.