Guitar chords · Major 7th
B♭maj7 chord on guitar (Bbmaj7)
B♭maj7 (B♭ major 7th) has four notes: B♭, D, F and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and 7.
Shapes
How to play B♭maj7
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♭maj7 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♭maj7 major 7th
A major A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords. adds the note a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. below the The distance of twelve half steps, where a note comes round to the same name. Twelve frets up a string is an octave. to a major chord. It sounds soft, open and a little dreamy, at home in jazz, bossa nova and soul.
- 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 and the 7th make B♭maj7 a major A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords.; you can leave out the 5th.
- B♭Rroot
- D3essential
- F5optional
- A7essential
- B♭, the root
- Other chord tones
B♭maj7 and A♯maj7 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♭maj7
B♭maj7 belongs to four keys: B♭ major (Imaj7), F major (IVmaj7), G minor (IIImaj7) and D minor (VImaj7).
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
Progressions
Progressions with B♭maj7
Common progressions that use B♭maj7, each in a key that spells it B♭maj7. The outlined chord is B♭maj7.
Jazz ii–V–I in B♭ major
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
- Cm7
- F7
- B♭maj7
Each chord falls a fifth to the next — a walk anticlockwise around the circle.
Heard in Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon
Slash chords
B♭maj7 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♭maj7 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- B♭maj7/D
B♭maj7 with its 3rd, D, in the bass: the first inversion.
- B♭maj7/F
B♭maj7 with its 5th, F, in the bass: the second inversion.
- B♭maj7/A
B♭maj7 with its 7th, A, in the bass: the third inversion.
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♭m7 minor 7th
- B♭sus2 suspended 2nd
- B♭sus4 suspended 4th
- B♭6 major 6th
- B♭m6 minor 6th
- B♭add9 add 9
- B♭9 dominant 9th
- 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♭maj7, in short
- What notes are in the B♭maj7 chord?
- B♭maj7 (B♭ major 7th) has four notes: B♭, D, F and A, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., 3, 5 and 7.
- How do you play B♭maj7 on guitar?
- B♭maj7 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♭maj7 in?
- B♭maj7 belongs to four keys: B♭ major (Imaj7), F major (IVmaj7), G minor (IIImaj7) and D minor (VImaj7).
- Is B♭maj7 the same as A♯maj7?
- Yes: same frets, same sound, different name. B♭maj7 is the spelling in B♭ major, F major, G minor and D minor. No key on the circle spells it A♯maj7, so you will rarely see that name.