Chord and FretHarmonic field of Eb minor
The harmonic field of Eb minor is the set of seven chords born from the Eb minor scale — one on each of its notes. The table shows each in two versions: the triad (the three-note chord) and the seventh chord (the same chord with a fourth note, the seventh, that enriches it).
Notes: Eb – F – Gb – Ab – Bb – Cb – Db| Degree | Triad | Seventh | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | EbmEbmEbmEbm | Ebm7Ebm7Ebm7Ebm7 | tonic |
| ii° | F° | Fm7b5 | subdominant |
| III | GbGbGbGb | Gbmaj7Gbmaj7Gbmaj7Gbmaj7 | tonic |
| iv | AbmAbmAbmAbm | Abm7Abm7Abm7Abm7 | subdominant |
| v | BbmBbmBbmBbm | Bbm7Bbm7Bbm7Bbm7 | dominant |
| VI | CbCbCbCb | Cbmaj7Cbmaj7Cbmaj7Cbmaj7 | subdominant |
| VII | DbDbDbDb | Db7Db7Db7Db7 | subdominant |
The roman numerals mark the chord's position in the scale: I is the first degree, V the fifth. Uppercase = major chord; lowercase = minor; ° = diminished.
Tonic chords stabilize and rest; subdominant chords prepare motion; dominant chords build the tension that asks for resolution.
This is the natural-minor field. In practice the v often becomes V (major) or V7 — borrowed from the harmonic minor — to create the leading tone that pulls back to the tonic.
The tonic chord on all four instruments
In Chord and Fret, open the Circle of Fifths, pick Eb minor and hear every degree — triads and sevenths, with fretboard positions and the key's secondary dominants. Open in Chord and Fret →