What notes are in the Bb 11b9 chord?

The Bb 11b9 chord contains the notes Bb · F · Ab · Cb · Eb: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 5P, 7m, 9m, 11P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Bb 11b9 chord?

Measured from Bb, the Bb 11b9 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 5P, 7m, 9m, 11P. 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 Bb 11b9 chord?

On guitar the most common Bb 11b9 shape is x11101, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · F4 · Ab4 · Cb4 · Eb5 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.

Bb 11b9 Chord (Bb11b9): 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	Bb3 · F4 · Ab4 · Cb4 · Eb5
Open (drop 2)	Cb3 · Bb3 · F4 · Ab4 · Eb5
Rootless	Ab3 · Cb3 · Eb4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Bb 11b9 (Bb11b9) contains the notes Bb · F · Ab · Cb · Eb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of Bb 11b9 puts a chord tone other than Bb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Bb 11b9 belongs to.

In which keys

Bb 11b9 is diatonic to 2 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

F# majorIII11b9Tonic
D# minorV11b9Dominant

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

Scales that contain it

Bb 11b9 fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.

Bb PhrygianBb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Bb Phrygian DominantBb · Cb · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Bb Dorian b2Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · G · Ab
Bb Spanish HeptatonicBb · Cb · Db · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Bb Bebop LocrianBb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · F · Gb · Ab

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Bb 11b9: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Bb7sus4Bb · Eb · F · Ab
Bbsus4Bb · Eb · F
Bb5Bb · F

Richer

Bb7sus4b9b13Bb · Eb · F · Ab · Cb · Gb

11b9 on every root

C11b9 C#11b9 D11b9 D#11b9 Eb11b9 E11b9 F11b9 F#11b9 G11b9 G#11b9 A11b9 A#11b9 B11b9

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Understanding the Bb 11b9 chord

Names and symbols

Bb11b9 is the chord symbol for Bb 11b9.

Bb 11b9 and A# 11b9 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. A# 11b9

Common questions

What notes are in the Bb 11b9 chord?: The Bb 11b9 chord contains the notes Bb · F · Ab · Cb · Eb: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 5P, 7m, 9m, 11P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Bb 11b9 chord?: Measured from Bb, the Bb 11b9 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 5P, 7m, 9m, 11P. 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 Bb 11b9 chord?: On guitar the most common Bb 11b9 shape is x11101, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · F4 · Ab4 · Cb4 · Eb5 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.