B Natural Minor Scale on Piano
The B Natural Minor scale has 7 notes — B4 C♯5 D5 E5 F♯5 G5 A5. Play the whole scale on the keyboard below.
The notes of the B Natural Minor scale
Starting from the root B, the B Natural Minor scale is: B4 C♯5 D5 E5 F♯5 G5 A5. Its step pattern is W · H · W · W · H · W · W, so the scale degrees are 1 · 2 · ♭3 · 4 · 5 · ♭6 · ♭7.
What gives the B Natural Minor scale its sound?
The natural minor scale is the major scale's shadow — the same seven letters, but with the third, sixth and seventh degrees lowered a semitone. Its step pattern (whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole) produces the brooding, melancholic sound most people associate with "sad" music. Lowering those three notes is exactly what turns a bright major mood into something more inward and wistful.
Natural minor is the home scale of countless rock ballads, classical works in minor keys and film themes. Every minor chord lives inside it, and the scale shares all seven notes with its relative major — so B minor and the major a minor third above use exactly the same keys. Play the B Natural Minor scale here and listen for how the lowered notes give every phrase a darker, more reflective colour than the major scale above it.
The whole scale is ready to play right here in your browser. The highlighted keys above show every note of the B Natural Minor scale, and Play notes runs through it ascending so you can hear the pattern before you learn it. On the online piano you can play the scale on any of seven real instruments, loop it with the Metronome to practise at a steady tempo, or transpose it into any key.
Scales and chords are two views of the same notes. To go further, browse the full set of piano scales, see which chords are built from this scale in the section below, or put the notes to work in a real melody from the easy piano songs — each with its own playable keyboard.
A reliable way to make any scale your own is to connect it to music you already love. Start on the root, sing or hum each note as you press it, and listen closely to the half steps — those tight intervals are the fingerprint that tells one scale apart from the next. Once the shape sits comfortably in your fingers, pick a simple tune from the easy piano songs and work out which of its notes are drawn from this scale. Do that with a few melodies and you will start hearing this scale everywhere, hidden inside the songs you have known for years.
Play the B Natural Minor scale
Press Play notes to hear the scale ascending, or tap the highlighted keys yourself.
On this site's default keyboard layout, those notes are at B4 = Y, C♯5 = 8, D5 = I, E5 = O, F♯5 = -, G5 = [, A5 = ].
Key signature
Because B natural minor shares all its notes with its relative major D, it carries the same key signature: two sharps.
Relative major
The relative major of B minor is D major — the two scales share the same seven notes.
Diatonic chords in the B Natural Minor scale
Practice tips
- Play the scale slowly with the Metronome on the home page, one note per click, before speeding up.
- Use the fingering 1-2-3-1-2-3-4 (thumb is 1) going up, mirroring it on the way down.
- Practice hands separately first, then together once each hand feels secure.
- Once smooth, improvise a short melody using only these notes — it will always sound in key.
Frequently asked questions
What notes are in the B Natural Minor scale?
The B Natural Minor scale is: B4, C♯5, D5, E5, F♯5, G5, A5. Its step pattern is W · H · W · W · H · W · W.
How do I play the B Natural Minor scale?
On the scale's page, press Play notes to hear it ascending, or tap the highlighted keys.
What is the difference between major and minor scales?
A major scale and a minor scale use the same letter names but arrange their half steps differently. A major scale places its half steps to sound bright and stable, while a minor scale shifts them to sound darker and more inward. The third degree — major or minor — is the single note that decides which mood you hear.
Why should I practise piano scales?
Practising scales trains your fingers to move evenly, builds your mental map of the keys, and gives you the raw material for improvising. Even a few minutes a day at a slow tempo with the Metronome makes everything else you play more fluent and secure.