What notes are in the Bb 4 chord?

The Bb 4 chord contains the notes Bb · Eb · Ab · Db: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m 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 4 chord?

Measured from Bb, the Bb 4 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m. 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 4 chord?

On guitar the most common Bb 4 shape is x11124, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · Eb4 · Ab4 · Db5 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 4 Chord (Bb4): 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 · Eb4 · Ab4 · Db5
Open (drop 2)	Ab3 · Bb3 · Eb4 · Db5
Shell	Bb3 · Eb4 · Ab4
Rootless	Eb3 · Ab3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Bb 4 (Bb4) contains the notes Bb · Eb · Ab · Db, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords

Inversions

An inversion of Bb 4 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 4 belongs to.

In which keys

Bb 4 is diatonic to 8 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

B majorVII4Dominant
G# minorII4Subdominant
F# majorIII4Tonic
D# minorV4Dominant
Db majorVI4Tonic
Bb minorI4Tonic
Ab majorII4Subdominant
F minorIV4Subdominant

Scales that contain it

Bb 4 fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.

Bb Minor PentatonicBb · Db · Eb · F · Ab
Bb Minor BluesBb · Db · Eb · Fb · F · Ab
Bb MinorBb · C · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Bb DorianBb · C · Db · Eb · F · G · Ab
Bb PhrygianBb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Bb LocrianBb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab
Bb Malkos RagaBb · Db · Eb · Gb · Ab
Bb Locrian PentatonicBb · Db · Eb · Fb · Ab

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Bb 4: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Richer

Bbm11Bb · Db · F · Ab · C · Eb
Bbm7add11Bb · Db · F · Ab · Eb
Bbm11ABb · Db · F# · Ab · C · Eb

4 on every root

C4 C#4 Db4 D4 D#4 Eb4 E4 F4 F#4 G4 G#4 Ab4 A4 A#4 B4

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Understanding the Bb 4 chord

Names and symbols

Bb4 is the chord symbol for Bb 4; it is also written Bbquartal.

Bb 4 and A# 4 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. A# 4

Common questions

What notes are in the Bb 4 chord?: The Bb 4 chord contains the notes Bb · Eb · Ab · Db: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m 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 4 chord?: Measured from Bb, the Bb 4 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m. 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 4 chord?: On guitar the most common Bb 4 shape is x11124, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · Eb4 · Ab4 · Db5 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.