E♭ / D♯ Melodic Minor Scale

72 scales in every key on a map of the whole neck: positions, patterns, and every note played as it lights up.

The E♭ melodic minor scale has 7 notes: E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – C – D. The melodic minor (jazz minor) is a minor scale with a major 6th and 7th: a minor 3rd with the top of a major scale. Jazz players use it and its modes to colour minor chords and altered dominant chords.

E♭ and D♯ are the same pitch, so this page covers both names; the notes are spelled from E♭, the way the key is usually written. Compared with the E♭ major scale it has ♭3 (G♭ instead of G).

The explorer above is set to E♭ melodic minor: the whole neck is mapped, and you can zoom into any of its 7 positions, change the labels to degrees or fingers, and hear it up, down and in patterns.

E♭ melodic minor scale notes

Degree	Note	Interval from E♭	Frets above the root	Sargam
1	E♭	R	0	S
2	F	M2	2	R
♭3	G♭	m3	3	g
4	A♭	P4	5	M
5	B♭	P5	7	P
6	C	M6	9	D
7	D	M7	11	N

Steps between the notes: W H W W W W H (W = two frets, H = one fret). Start on any E♭ and follow those steps up one string to play the scale.

E♭ melodic minor scale positions on the guitar

With three notes on every string, E♭ melodic minor has seven patterns that climb the neck. Position 1 starts on E♭ on the low E string at fret 11; each next position starts on the next note of the scale. In standard tuning, high string first:

Position	E (1st)	B	G	D	A	E (6th)
Position 1 frets 11–16	13 14 16	13 15 16	11 13 15	12 13 15	11 13 15	11 13 14
Position 2 frets 13–18	14 16 18	15 16 18	13 15 17	13 15 16	13 15 17	13 14 16
Position 3 frets 14–20	16 18 20	16 18 19	15 17 19	15 16 18	15 17 18	14 16 18
Position 4 frets 16–22	18 20 22	18 19 21	17 19 20	16 18 20	17 18 20	16 18 20
Position 5 frets 6–11	8 10 11	7 9 11	7 8 10	6 8 10	6 8 9	6 8 10
Position 6 frets 8–13	10 11 13	9 11 13	8 10 11	8 10 12	8 9 11	8 10 11
Position 7 frets 9–15	11 13 14	11 13 15	10 11 13	10 12 13	9 11 13	10 11 13

Chords in the E♭ melodic minor scale

Stacking every other note of the scale on each degree gives these chords. They are the chords a song in E♭ melodic minor is made from, and the chords this scale fits over.

	i	ii	♭III+	IV	V	vi°	vii°
Triad	E♭m	Fm	G♭aug	A♭	B♭	Cdim	Ddim
7th chord	E♭mMaj7	Fm7	G♭maj7♯5	A♭7	B♭7	Cm7♭5	Dm7♭5

Where you hear it

E♭ melodic minor is used in jazz, fusion and film music. It sounds best over minor 6 and minor-major 7 chords on the root.

Backing tracks to practise E♭ melodic minor

E♭ minor blues E♭ minor rock E♭ minor funk

How to practise it

Play position 1 (frets 11–16) slowly, up and down, saying the note names.
Play it with the pattern set to In 3s, then In 4s, at a tempo where every note is clean.
Learn position 2 and how it joins position 1: the notes they share are where your hand moves.
Switch the labels to degrees and find every E♭ (1) in each position.
Improvise over a backing track, ending your phrases on E♭.