Guitar chords · Dominant 9th
B♭9 chord on guitar (Bb9)
B♭9 (B♭ The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th) has five notes: B♭, D, F, A♭ and C, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5, ♭7 and 9.
Shapes
How to play B♭9
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
B♭9 has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 1 or the E shape at fret 6. A A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major. keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
A shape · fret 1
E shape · fret 6
Notes and formula
What makes B♭9 dominant 9th
A The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th chord is a A major chord with a minor 7th added, such as G7. It is the V7 of a key and pulls strongly to the I chord. chord with the 9th stacked on top. It keeps the A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords.'s pull to the chord a 5th below but sounds fuller and smoother: the sound of funk, soul and the blues. Keep the 3rd, the ♭7th and the 9th; the 5th can go.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The 3rd, the ♭7th and the 9th make B♭9 a The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th chord; you can leave out the 5th.
- B♭Rroot
- D3essential
- F5optional
- A♭♭7essential
- C9essential
- B♭, the root
- Other chord tones
B♭9 usually resolves to E♭ or E♭m, the chord a 5th below: the V9–I move.
B♭9 and A♯9 are the same chord with two names: same The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step., same sound. Which one you see depends on the key the song is written in.
Keys
Keys with B♭9
B♭9 belongs to two keys: E♭ major (V9) and C minor (VII9).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Slash chords
B♭9 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps B♭9 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- B♭9/D
B♭9 with its 3rd, D, in the bass.
- B♭9/F
B♭9 with its 5th, F, in the bass.
- B♭9/A♭
B♭9 with its ♭7th, A♭, in the bass.
Same root
Other chords on A♯ / B♭
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- B♭ major
- B♭m minor
- B♭7 dominant 7th
- B♭maj7 major 7th
- B♭m7 minor 7th
- B♭sus2 suspended 2nd
- B♭sus4 suspended 4th
- B♭6 major 6th
- B♭m6 minor 6th
- B♭add9 add 9
- B♭maj9 major 9th
- B♭m9 minor 9th
- B♭13 dominant 13th
- B♭maj13 major 13th
- B♭m11 minor 11th
- A♯° diminished
- A♯m7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- A♯°7 diminished 7th
- B♭+ augmented
- B♭5 power chord
- B♭7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- B♭m(maj7) minor major 7th
- B♭6/9 six-nine
- B♭m(add9) minor add 9
- B♭7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
B♭9, in short
- What notes are in the B♭9 chord?
- B♭9 (B♭ The 5th degree of a key and the chord on it (V). It creates tension that wants to resolve home to the tonic. 9th) has five notes: B♭, D, F, A♭ and C, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5, ♭7 and 9.
- How do you play B♭9 on guitar?
- B♭9 has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 1 or the E shape at fret 6.
- What key is B♭9 in?
- B♭9 belongs to two keys: E♭ major (V9) and C minor (VII9).
- Is B♭9 the same as A♯9?
- Yes: same frets, same sound, different name. B♭9 is the spelling in E♭ major and C minor. No key on the circle spells it A♯9, so you will rarely see that name.