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Chord & Fret

Harmonic field of Bb minor on cavaquinho

Bb minor: Bb – C – Db – Eb – F – Gb – Ab. In the shapes below, the tonic opens with the bass on F. On the cavaquinho, four steel strings tuned D–G–B–D pack the chord into a small, bright space — every finger counts. Its four steel strings give a bright, sharp attack that cuts through the mix and drives the beat.

Bbm7, 3 3 2 6Bbm722314FBbDbAb
i · tonic3 3 2 6
Cm7b5, 1 3 1 4Cm7b51324EbBbCGb
ii° · subdominant1 3 1 4
Dbmaj7, 3 5 2 3Dbmaj72413FCDbF
III · tonic3 5 2 3
Ebm7, 1 3 2 4Ebm71324EbBbDbGb
iv · subdominant1 3 2 4
Fm7, 3 1 1 1Fm73111FAbCEb
v · dominant3 1 1 1
Gbmaj7, 4 3 2 3Gbmaj74213GbBbDbF
VI · tonic4 3 2 3
Ab7, 6 5 4 4Ab743211AbCEbGb
VII · dominant6 5 4 4

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.

These are the first positions of every degree of Bb minor on cavaquinho. In Chord & Fret, the Circle of Fifths opens the full field — every degree with all its positions, audio and the key's secondary dominants. Open in Chord & Fret →

See the full harmonic field of Bb minor →