What notes are in the B 7b6 chord?

The B 7b6 chord contains the notes B · D# · F# · G · A: the root B with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 7m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally B, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the B 7b6 chord?

Measured from B, the B 7b6 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 7m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

How do I play the B 7b6 chord?

On guitar the most common B 7b6 shape is 201002, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play B3 · D#4 · F#4 · G4 · A4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.

B 7b6 Chord (B7b6): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	B3 · D#4 · F#4 · G4 · A4
Open (drop 2)	G3 · B3 · D#4 · F#4 · A4
Shell	B3 · D#4 · A4
Rootless	D#3 · G3 · A3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

B 7b6 (B7b6) contains the notes B · D# · F# · G · A, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords

Inversions

An inversion of B 7b6 puts a chord tone other than B in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales B 7b6 belongs to.

In which keys

B 7b6 is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

E minorV7b6Dominant

Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.

Scales that contain it

B 7b6 fits inside these scales, each built on B.

B Phrygian DominantB · C · D# · E · F# · G · A
B Mixolydian b6B · C# · D# · E · F# · G · A
B Lydian MinorB · C# · D# · E# · F# · G · A
B Spanish HeptatonicB · C · D · D# · E · F# · G · A
B Messiaen's Mode #3B · C# · D · D# · E# · F# · G · A · A#

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with B 7b6: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

B7B · D# · F# · A
B7b13B · D# · A · G
BB · D# · F#
B7no5B · D# · A
B5B · F#

Richer

B7#11b13B · D# · F# · A · E# · G
B7b9b13B · D# · F# · A · C · G
B9#11b13B · D# · F# · A · C# · E# · G
B7b9b13#11B · D# · F# · A · C · E# · G

Common substitutions

F7b6F · A · C · Db · Eb
F7b6 shares the third and seventh of B7b6 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
F#m7F# · A · C# · E
F#m7 is the ii chord that leads into B7b6 in a ii–V.

7b6 on every root

C7b6 C#7b6 D7b6 Eb7b6 E7b6 F7b6 F#7b6 G7b6 G#7b6 Ab7b6 A7b6 Bb7b6

Open it in a tool

Understanding the B 7b6 chord

Names and symbols

B7b6 is the chord symbol for B 7b6.

Common questions

What notes are in the B 7b6 chord?: The B 7b6 chord contains the notes B · D# · F# · G · A: the root B with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 7m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally B, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the B 7b6 chord?: Measured from B, the B 7b6 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 7m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.
How do I play the B 7b6 chord?: On guitar the most common B 7b6 shape is 201002, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play B3 · D#4 · F#4 · G4 · A4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.