Bb chord
Bb major chord for guitar with diagrams, fingerings and notes.
All chords More Bb chordsDescription
Bb is the same as B flat major and equivalent to A sharp. It consists of three notes, though depending on the instrument, some notes may be doubled or tripled. Since the root as well as the 5th are absent among the open strings in standard tuning, there are no simple fingerings in open positions. Because of that, the chord is mostly played as a barre chord.
Theory of Bb chord
The notes that the Bb chord consists of are Bb, D, F. These represent the root, major third and perfect fifth intervals.
Chords that sound good together with Bb
The primary chords to combine in a chord progression with \1 are: Cm, Dm, Eb, F and Gm.
Follow-up chords
Chords that are likely to follow Bb major in progressions:
› Eb
› F7
› Gm
Chord progressions
Examples of progressions featuring Bb.
| Progression 1: I - ii - V progression. | ||
|---|---|---|
Bb X13331 |
Cm X35543 |
F 133211 |
| Progression 2: Descending bassline. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Bb |
F/A |
Gm7 |
F |
| Progression 3: All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Cm
8 10 10 8 8 8 |
Bb
688766 |
Ab
466544 |
Bb
688766 |
| Progression 4: What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
F
|
Am
|
Bb
|
Am
|
Inversions
1st inversion: Bb/D (means that D is the bass note).
2nd inversion: Bb/F (means that F is the bass note).
Omissions
Bb(no3) is an Bb major with no third (D). Bb(no3) is theoretically identical with Bb5.
Bb(no5) is an Bb major with no fifth (F).
Alternatives with capo
A shape with a capo on 1st fret.
G shape with a capo on 3rd fret.
E shape with a capo on 6th fret.