What notes are in the Bb M7b5 chord?

The Bb M7b5 chord contains the notes Bb · D · Fb · A: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 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 M7b5 chord?

Measured from Bb, the Bb M7b5 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 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 Bb M7b5 chord?

On guitar the most common Bb M7b5 shape is x10230, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · D4 · Fb4 · 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.

Bb M7b5 Chord (Bbmaj7b5): 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 · Fb4 · A4
Open (drop 2)	Fb3 · Bb3 · D4 · A4
Shell	Bb3 · D4 · A4
Rootless	D3 · Fb3 · A3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Bb M7b5 (Bbmaj7b5) contains the notes Bb · D · Fb · 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 M7b5 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 M7b5 belongs to.

In which keys

Bb M7b5 is diatonic to 2 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

F majorIVmaj7b5Subdominant
D minorVImaj7b5Subdominant

Scales that contain it

Bb M7b5 fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.

Bb LydianBb · C · D · E · F · G · A
Bb Lydian PentatonicBb · D · E · F · A
Bb Double Harmonic LydianBb · Cb · D · E · F · Gb · A
Bb Lydian AugmentedBb · C · D · E · F# · G · A
Bb Leading Whole ToneBb · C · D · E · F# · Ab · A
Bb PersianBb · Cb · D · Eb · Fb · Gb · A
Bb EnigmaticBb · Cb · D · Fb · Gb · Ab · A
Bb Lydian #9Bb · C# · D · E · F · G · A

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Bb M7b5: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Bbmajb5Bb · D · Fb

Richer

Bbmaj#4Bb · D · F · A · E
Bbmaj9b5Bb · D · Fb · A · C
Bbmaj7#9#11Bb · D · F · A · C# · E
Bbmaj9#11Bb · D · F · A · C · E
Bbmaj13#11Bb · D · F · A · C · E · G

M7b5 on every root

Cmaj7b5 C#maj7b5 Dmaj7b5 Emaj7b5 Fmaj7b5 F#maj7b5 Gmaj7b5 Amaj7b5 Bmaj7b5

Open it in a tool

Understanding the Bb M7b5 chord

Names and symbols

Bbmaj7b5 is the chord symbol for Bb M7b5; it is also written BbM7b5.

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.

Common questions

What notes are in the Bb M7b5 chord?: The Bb M7b5 chord contains the notes Bb · D · Fb · A: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 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 M7b5 chord?: Measured from Bb, the Bb M7b5 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5d, 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 Bb M7b5 chord?: On guitar the most common Bb M7b5 shape is x10230, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · D4 · Fb4 · 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.