B♭7
B♭7 is the bb dominant 7th chord, spelled B♭ – D – F – A♭. the engine of harmonic motion — the tritone between its third and seventh drives resolution down a fifth.
The keys
B♭ – D – F – A♭
Practise this chord
Plug in your MIDI keyboard and let Coach Tshepho drill you on B♭7 — it plays the chord, names any wrong notes as you play, and moves you on when you nail it.
Create your free account →What's inside B♭7
| Note | Interval from root | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| B♭ | Root | 1 |
| D | Major 3rd | 3 |
| F | Perfect 5th | 5 |
| A♭ | Minor 7th | b7 |
Inversions
| Position | Keys (low → high) |
|---|---|
| Root position | B♭4 – D5 – F5 – A♭5 |
| 1st inversion | D5 – F5 – A♭5 – B♭5 |
| 2nd inversion | F5 – A♭5 – B♭5 – D6 |
| 3rd inversion | A♭5 – B♭5 – D6 – F6 |
A working voicing
Split the chord between two hands the way working players do — a solid shell low down, the colour tones up top:
| Hand | Keys |
|---|---|
| Left (shell) | B♭2 – A♭3 |
| Right (colour) | D5 – F5 |
Where B♭7 lives
Resolving down a fifth
B♭7 → E♭
The defining dominant move: the tritone inside this chord releases onto the chord a fifth below.
In a ii–V–I
Fm7 → B♭7 → E♭maj7
This chord as the V — the engine of the most-used cadence in music.
Put B♭7 under your fingers
Hear every voicing, see the keys light up, and drill it in the interactive Chord & Voicing Lab.
Open the Chord & Voicing Lab →More Bb chords
B♭
B♭m
B♭dim
B♭aug
B♭sus2
B♭sus4
B♭6
B♭m6
B♭7
B♭maj7
B♭m7
B♭m7♭5
B♭dim7
B♭m(maj7)
B♭9
B♭maj9
B♭m9
B♭add9
B♭6/9
B♭m11
B♭13
B♭7♭9
B♭7♯9
B♭7♯5Play it over a groove
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