Dominant 7th chord · Bb root
Bb7 chord
- Bb1
- D3
- F5
- Ab♭7
The Bb dominant 7th chord (also written A#7, same notes, different spelling) is built from the notes Bb, D, F, Ab. It turns up 10 times in the 80 songs on this site, including Black Orpheus and Blue Bossa.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Bb7 chord?
The Bb7 chord (Bb dominant 7th) is a dominant 7th chord built from four notes: Bb, D, F, Ab — the 1–3–5–♭7 of the Bb scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played as a movable shape from fret 1 (x-1-3-1-3-1), so the same fingering works at any fret. It is rated intermediate. A tense, bluesy chord that wants to resolve down a fifth. It is one of the most-used chords in this site's library: across the 80 song sheets charted here, Bb7 appears 10 times in 3 songs, most often in the keys of Dm and Cm, and the chord it most often moves to is A7. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 3 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the Bb7 chord on guitar?
Fret 1 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the A to high E strings at fret 1, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the D string at fret 3 with your ring finger.
- Press the B string at fret 3 with your pinky finger.
- Start your strum on the A string and do not play the low E string at all.
Drop the lowest fretted note (A string) and play the rest as a four- or five-string shape. You lose the bass note but keep every note that gives the chord its name, and there is no barre left to fight. x-x-3-1-3-1
How do you make Bb7 sound clean?
Bb7 is the A7 shape moved up — the usual error is barring the top two strings with the wrong finger.
Bb7 → Eb → Bb7: the V7–I of Eb.
In real songs
What songs use the Bb7 chord?
- chord changes
- 10
- songs
- 3
- common keys
- Dm · Cm
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, Bb7 appears 10 times in 3 songs — most often in the keys of Dm and Cm.
Dm7A#7A7Dm7
Dm7Cm9Fmaj7A#7
Fmaj7A#7A7Dm7
Chord flow
What chord comes after Bb7?
The counts come from our own song library — 1560 chord changes in total — which makes them a snapshot of real songs instead of a rule of thumb.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
What other ways can you play Bb7 up the neck?
2 more positions below. These are the same notes in a different part of the neck. Choosing the position closest to the chord you just played is what stops your hand jumping between changes.
Position 2 · Fret 6 barre
Because nothing rings open, you can move this whole shape to any fret and it keeps the same quality — only the letter name changes.
A single bar covers the rest of the strings here. If the inside strings stay dead, move the bar a millimetre closer to the fret wire before you try pressing harder.
Position 3 · Fret 8
Because nothing rings open, you can move this whole shape to any fret and it keeps the same quality — only the letter name changes.
Up at fret 8 the frets are close together, so use a lighter touch than you would in the open position — squeezing here pulls the notes sharp.
The theory behind Bb7
Bb7 is spelled Bb – D – F – Ab — the 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 of the Bb scale, which is the root plus 4 semitones, 7 semitones, 10 semitones. A tense, bluesy chord that wants to resolve down a fifth.
The flat seventh is a whole tone below the octave, and it is the note that creates the pull toward the chord a fifth below Bb7. Mute that note by accident and the chord turns into a plain major triad.
What key is the Bb7 chord in?
Bb7 is the V7 in the key of Eb — in both Eb major and Eb minor — which is exactly why it resolves to Eb.
the dominant — the flat seventh is what pulls it home
the same dominant job in the minor key
Bb7 on other instruments
Bb – D – F – Ab — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
