Chords
Bb Major seventh
Bb · D · F · A
The major seventh chord — a major triad with a major seventh. Lush, settled, and unmistakably modern.
Also written BbΔ · BbΔ7 · Bb△ · Bb△7 · Bbma7 · BbM7 · BbMaj7 · Bb^7
Bb Major seventh
Bb · D · F · A
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Bb3 · D4 · F4 · A4 | |
| Open (drop 2) | F3 · Bb3 · D4 · A4 | |
| Shell | Bb3 · D4 · A4 | |
| Rootless | D4 · F4 · A4 · C5 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Bb Major seventh (Bbmaj7) contains the notes Bb · D · F · A, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords
Inversions
An inversion of Bb Major seventh 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 Major seventh belongs to.
In which keys
Bb Major seventh is diatonic to 4 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
Bb Major seventh fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.
- Bb MajorBb · C · D · Eb · F · G · A
- Bb LydianBb · C · D · E · F · G · A
- Bb Harmonic MajorBb · C · D · Eb · F · Gb · A
- Bb Ionian PentatonicBb · D · Eb · F · A
- Bb Lydian PentatonicBb · D · E · F · A
- Bb AugmentedBb · C# · D · F · F# · A
- Bb Double Harmonic LydianBb · Cb · D · E · F · Gb · A
- Bb Augmented HeptatonicBb · C# · D · Eb · F · F# · A
Understanding the Bb Major seventh chord
Names and symbols
Bbmaj7 is the chord symbol for Bb Major seventh; it is also written BbΔ, BbΔ7, Bb△, Bb△7, Bbma7, BbM7, BbMaj7, Bb^7.
maj7, M7, Δ7, ma7 and ^7 all mean the major seventh. A lowercase m7 is a different chord, the minor seventh, so the capital letter and the triangle are the only things keeping the two apart on a chart.
How it is built
On Bb it is Bb · D · F · A, stacking 1P · 3M · 5P · 7M. The seventh sits one semitone below the octave, which is a sharp dissonance in isolation and pure colour once the third and fifth sit between them.
How it is used
Unlike the dominant seventh it contains no tritone, so it does not demand resolution. That is why it works as a resting chord — the I of a jazz standard, the tonic of a bossa nova, the final chord that sounds finished without sounding plain.
It is the sound of bossa nova, neo-soul and a great deal of film romance. Put it on the IV as well as the I and you have most of what makes a progression sound sophisticated rather than folk.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Bbmaj7?
- Bbmaj7 contains Bb · D · F · A. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- What is the difference between Bbmaj7 and a dominant seventh on the same root?
- The seventh. A major seventh is eleven semitones above the root; a dominant seventh is ten. That one semitone is the difference between resting and resolving.
- Why does a maj7 sound jazzy?
- It adds colour without demanding resolution, so a progression can sit on it. That combination of richness and stability is central to the jazz and bossa vocabulary.
- What notes are in the Bb Major seventh chord?
- The Bb Major seventh chord contains the notes Bb · D · F · A: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 7M 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 Major seventh chord?
- Measured from Bb, the Bb Major seventh chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 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.