What notes are in the Bb 9b13 chord?

The Bb 9b13 chord contains the notes Bb · D · Ab · C · Gb: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m 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 9b13 chord?

Measured from Bb, the Bb 9b13 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m. 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 9b13 chord?

On guitar the most common Bb 9b13 shape is 634334, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · D4 · Ab4 · C5 · Gb5 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 9b13 Chord (Bb9b13): 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 · D4 · Ab4 · C5 · Gb5
Open (drop 2)	Bb3 · C4 · D4 · Ab4 · Gb5
Shell	Bb3 · D4 · Ab4
Rootless	D3 · Ab3 · C4 · Gb4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Bb 9b13 (Bb9b13) contains the notes Bb · D · Ab · C · Gb, 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 9b13 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 9b13 belongs to.

In which keys

Bb 9b13 is not diatonic to any major or minor key: at least one of its notes lies outside every one of them.

Scales that contain it

Bb 9b13 fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.

Bb Whole ToneBb · C · D · E · F# · G#
Bb Locrian MajorBb · C · D · Eb · Fb · Gb · Ab
Bb Mixolydian b6Bb · C · D · Eb · F · Gb · Ab
Bb Leading Whole ToneBb · C · D · E · F# · Ab · A
Bb Lydian MinorBb · C · D · E · F · Gb · Ab
Bb Messiaen's Mode #6Bb · C · D · Eb · E · F# · G# · A
Bb Messiaen's Mode #3Bb · C · Db · D · E · F · Gb · Ab · A

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Bb 9b13: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Bb7#5Bb · D · F# · Ab
Bb7b13Bb · D · Ab · Gb
Bb9no5Bb · D · Ab · C
Bbmaj#5add9Bb · D · F# · C
BbaugBb · D · F#
Bb7no5Bb · D · Ab

Richer

Bb9#5#11Bb · D · F# · Ab · C · E
Bb9#11b13Bb · D · F · Ab · C · E · Gb

Common substitutions

E9b13E · G# · D · F# · C
E9b13 shares the third and seventh of Bb9b13 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
Fm7F · Ab · C · Eb
Fm7 is the ii chord that leads into Bb9b13 in a ii–V.

9b13 on every root

C9b13 C#9b13 D9b13 Eb9b13 E9b13 F9b13 F#9b13 G9b13 G#9b13 Ab9b13 A9b13 B9b13

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Understanding the Bb 9b13 chord

Names and symbols

Bb9b13 is the chord symbol for Bb 9b13.

Common questions

What notes are in the Bb 9b13 chord?: The Bb 9b13 chord contains the notes Bb · D · Ab · C · Gb: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m 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 9b13 chord?: Measured from Bb, the Bb 9b13 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 7m, 9M, 13m. 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 9b13 chord?: On guitar the most common Bb 9b13 shape is 634334, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · D4 · Ab4 · C5 · Gb5 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.