What notes are in the Eb 7b6 chord?

The Eb 7b6 chord contains the notes Eb · G · Bb · Cb · Db: the root Eb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 7m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Eb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Eb 7b6 chord?

Measured from Eb, the Eb 7b6 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 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 Eb 7b6 chord?

On guitar the most common Eb 7b6 shape is x65606, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Eb3 · G3 · Bb3 · Cb3 · Db4 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.

Eb 7b6 Chord (Eb7b6): 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	Eb3 · G3 · Bb3 · Cb3 · Db4
Open (drop 2)	Cb2 · Eb3 · G3 · Bb3 · Db4
Shell	Eb3 · G3 · Db4
Rootless	G3 · Cb3 · Db4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Eb 7b6 (Eb7b6) contains the notes Eb · G · Bb · Cb · Db, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords

Inversions

An inversion of Eb 7b6 puts a chord tone other than Eb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Eb 7b6 belongs to.

In which keys

Eb 7b6 is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

G# minorV7b6Dominant

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

Scales that contain it

Eb 7b6 fits inside these scales, each built on Eb.

Eb Phrygian DominantEb · Fb · G · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
Eb Mixolydian b6Eb · F · G · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
Eb Lydian MinorEb · F · G · A · Bb · Cb · Db
Eb Spanish HeptatonicEb · Fb · Gb · G · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db
Eb Messiaen's Mode #3Eb · F · Gb · G · A · Bb · Cb · Db · D

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Eb 7b6: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Eb7#5Eb · G · B · Db
Eb7Eb · G · Bb · Db
Eb7b13Eb · G · Db · Cb
EbaugEb · G · B
EbEb · G · Bb
Eb7no5Eb · G · Db
Eb5Eb · Bb

Richer

Eb7#11b13Eb · G · Bb · Db · A · Cb
Eb7#9b13Eb · G · Bb · Db · F# · Cb
Eb7b9b13Eb · G · Bb · Db · Fb · Cb
Eb7#9#11b13Eb · G · Bb · Db · F# · A · Cb
Eb9#11b13Eb · G · Bb · Db · F · A · Cb
Eb7b9b13#11Eb · G · Bb · Db · Fb · A · Cb

Common substitutions

A7b6A · C# · E · F · G
A7b6 shares the third and seventh of Eb7b6 a tritone away, so it can replace it as a dominant.
Bbm7Bb · Db · F · Ab
Bbm7 is the ii chord that leads into Eb7b6 in a ii–V.

7b6 on every root

C7b6 C#7b6 D7b6 E7b6 F7b6 F#7b6 G7b6 G#7b6 Ab7b6 A7b6 Bb7b6 B7b6

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Understanding the Eb 7b6 chord

Names and symbols

Eb7b6 is the chord symbol for Eb 7b6.

Common questions

What notes are in the Eb 7b6 chord?: The Eb 7b6 chord contains the notes Eb · G · Bb · Cb · Db: the root Eb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 7m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Eb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Eb 7b6 chord?: Measured from Eb, the Eb 7b6 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P, 6m, 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 Eb 7b6 chord?: On guitar the most common Eb 7b6 shape is x65606, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Eb3 · G3 · Bb3 · Cb3 · Db4 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.