B Aeolian

What is B Aeolian?

B Aeolian is the seven notes B C# D E F# G A — the notes of D major started from its 6th degree, B. Same seven notes as the parent, but with B as home, so the intervals and the sound are different.

B Aeolian vs B natural minor

They are the same seven notes in the same order. “Aeolian” is the mode name for the natural minor scale — it says which chord you treat as home, not that any note changed.

Chords in B Aeolian

Stack the mode in thirds and each degree becomes a chord. The home chord is Bm; the rest are the chords of D major, since the notes are the same — what changes is which one the music rests on. Vamp between Bm and G and the mode is unmistakable.

All the chords in D major, with shapes and numerals →

B Aeolian on the guitar neck

Because B Aeolian is D major from its 6th note, its natural fingering is position 6 of the seven three-notes-per-string shapes of D major — the shape whose lowest note is B. Learn that shape with B as home — start and end on it, over a drone on B or the vamp above — and you have the mode under your fingers. Play the same shape with D as home and you hear D major instead. The other six positions are the fingerings for the other six modes of the same key.

• The seven positions of D major — the Aeolian shape is position 6 →
• See every B Aeolian note across the whole neck →

How to practice B Aeolian on guitar

1. Loop position 6 of D major at 60 BPM, starting and ending on B so your ear hears B as home rather than D.
2. Hold a Bm chord (or record one) and play the shape over it. Listen for the chord tones landing on the beat.
3. Hear it harmonized in 3rds on the Fretboard: press Play and every note sounds with its partner while the neck lights up.