B♭7 chord
B♭7 is B♭, D, F and A♭: 1–3–5–♭7 built on B♭. Here it is on guitar, piano and ukulele. Tap Play on any of them.
On guitar
x-1-3-1-3-1 · barre · hard
- Notes
- B♭ · D · F · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- x-1-3-1-3-1
B♭7 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · B♭–D–F–A♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- B♭ · D · F · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
B♭7 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
1-2-1-1 · movable · medium
- Notes
- B♭ · D · F · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 1-2-1-1
Changing out of B♭7
Three changes cover most of what B♭7 does in songs.
- B♭7 → E♭ (the V7 pulls home a fifth below)
Guitar: B♭7 (x-1-3-1-3-1) to E♭ (x-x-1-3-4-3): your index finger lands on the D string, 1st fret, the middle finger slides across to the G string at the same fret, the ring finger slides across to the high E string at the same fret, the pinky finger comes down on the B string, 4th fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. B♭ carries over from one chord to the other.
Piano: B♭7 to E♭: play E♭ in 2nd inversion (B♭–E♭–G) and B♭ stays under the same finger, while D moves up to E♭ and A♭ down to G. E♭ - B♭7 → E♭maj7 (I in E♭ major)
Guitar: B♭7 (x-1-3-1-3-1) to E♭maj7 (x-x-1-3-3-3): your ring finger stays put, move the index finger to the D string, 1st fret, the middle finger slides across to the G string at the same fret, the pinky finger comes down on the high E string, 3rd fret. Listen for B♭ and D, which stay put while the rest moves.
Piano: B♭7 to E♭maj7: play E♭maj7 in 2nd inversion (B♭–D–E♭–G) and B♭ and D stay under the same fingers, while F moves down to E♭ and A♭ down to G. E♭maj7 - B♭7 → Cm7 (vi in E♭ major)
Guitar: B♭7 (x-1-3-1-3-1) to Cm7 (x-3-5-3-4-3): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 3rd fret, your middle finger lands on the B string, 4th fret, the ring finger goes to the D string, 5th fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. Shared note: B♭.
Piano: B♭7 to Cm7: play Cm7 in 3rd inversion (B♭–C–E♭–G) and B♭ stays under the same finger, while D moves down to C, F down to E♭ and A♭ down to G. Cm7
Guitar with a capo: capo 1, A7 shape; capo 3, G7 shape; capo 6, E7 shape. Ukulele with a capo: capo 1, A7 shape; capo 3, G7 shape; capo 6, E7 shape.
How B♭7 is built
B♭7 is a dominant seventh chord: a major triad with a flattened seventh on top. It sounds restless and wants to move, most strongly to E♭, the chord a fifth below. It is also the backbone of the blues, where every chord can be a seventh.
Count keys (black and white) from B♭: 4 half steps up to D, 3 half steps up to F then 3 half steps up to A♭. A♯7 is the other spelling of the same chord.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| B♭ | root | 0 | |
| D | major third | 4 | |
| F | perfect fifth | 7 | |
| A♭ | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with B♭7
In major keys, B♭7 is V7 in E♭ major. In minor keys it is V7 in E♭ minor (borrowing the raised 7th) and VII7 in C minor.
B♭7 – B♭7 – B♭7 – B♭7 – E♭7 – E♭7 – B♭7 – B♭7 – F7 – E♭7 – B♭7 – F7: that's I7–IV7–V7 (12 bars) in the key of B♭ major. the 12-bar blues
In E♭ major, ii–V–I is Fm7 – B♭7 – E♭maj7. the jazz cadence
Chords close to B♭7
- B♭7 is B♭ plus A♭. B♭
- B♭7 and B♭maj7 differ by one note: A♭ in B♭7, A in B♭maj7. They share B♭, D and F. B♭maj7
Chords that share most of their notes with B♭7: B♭9, Ddim, B♭, C♯6, Ddim7, Dm7♭5.
Every B♭ chord
B♭7 chord: questions
What notes are in the B♭7 chord?
B♭, D, F and A♭. B♭7 is built 1–3–5–♭7 from B♭: D is the major third, F is the perfect fifth and A♭ is the minor seventh.
How do you play B♭7 on guitar?
The usual shape is x-1-3-1-3-1 (barre). All 4 guitar shapes.
How do you play B♭7 on piano?
Play B♭, D, F and A♭ with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. B♭ sits on the last black key of the group of three. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play B♭7 on ukulele?
1-2-1-1 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is B♭7 in?
In major keys, B♭7 is V7 in E♭ major. In minor keys it is V7 in E♭ minor (borrowing the raised 7th) and VII7 in C minor.
What's the difference between B♭7 and B♭?
B♭7 is B♭ plus A♭.
Every diagram on this page is generated from the notes B♭, D, F and A♭ and checked automatically so the sound matches the drawing. Updated September 2026.