Chord · Eb Minor
E♭m Chord
E♭m is Eb, Gb and Bb — dark, melancholic.
E♭m on every instrument
The same 3 notes, 6 sets of hands. Open a diagram for alternate shapes, audio and the mistakes to avoid.
What E♭m is made of
Eb Minor (Eb minor) is built from the notes Eb, Gb, Bb, with the interval pattern 1, b3, 5. A common minor chord across many styles.
Stack 1, b3 and 5 on a root of E♭ and you get Eb, Gb and Bb. That interval recipe is what makes the chord a minor chord — move the same shape to another root and the character travels with it, which is why Cm sounds like a transposed E♭m.
Minor: Dark, melancholic.
Spelling: the notes above are written the way a score would write them, not simplified to the nearest piano key. That is why this chord is spelled with E♭ rather than its enharmonic equivalent.
Keys that contain E♭m
All 3 notes sit inside the scale of 12 keys. The roman numeral marks the degree the chord is rooted on.
Other chords on E♭
Same root, different colour.
Questions people ask about Ebm
- What notes are in the Ebm chord?
- Ebm is made of Eb, Gb and Bb — the 1, b3 and 5 degrees of a minor chord built on Eb.
- What keys use the Ebm chord?
- Every note of Ebm belongs to 12 keys: B Major (iii), Db Major (ii), F# Major (vi), Gb Major (vi), C# Major (ii), Cb Major (iii), Bb Minor (iv), G# Minor (v), D# Minor (i), Eb Minor (i), A# Minor (iv), Ab Minor (v). The roman numeral is the scale degree the chord is rooted on.
- How do you play Ebm on guitar and piano?
- This page shows Ebm on guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin and banjo — 9 voicings in total. Each diagram links to the full instrument page with alternate shapes, audio and common mistakes.
- Is Ebm the same as D#m?
- Yes. Ebm and D#m are enharmonic — identical pitches written two different ways. Which spelling you use depends on the key you are in; Ebm is the spelling this site treats as canonical.
Learn the theory behind it
Why E♭m behaves the way it does — the guides that explain the chord instead of just spelling it.