Bb major chord on piano

The Bb chord (Bb major, also written A# major) is three notes: B♭, D and F. Start on B♭, count four half steps up to D, then three more to F.

  • B♭root, 1
  • Dmajor 3rd, 3
  • Fperfect 5th, 5
D3F5B♭1

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play Bb major on piano

  1. Find B♭, the third black key of a group of three.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on B♭.
  3. Count four half steps up, black and white keys alike, to D. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count three more half steps to F for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play B♭ an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. D3F5B♭1

    Root position

    B♭, D, F

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. D1F2B♭5

    1st inversion

    D, F, B♭

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. F1D5B♭3

    2nd inversion

    F, B♭, D

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice Bb major

Hold each position of B♭ major for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

DFB♭
  1. Root positionB♭–D–F
  2. 1st inversionD–F–B♭
  3. 2nd inversionF–B♭–D

The shape of Bb major

Bb major is black, white, white: B♭ is the only black key. No other major chord has this pattern.

Bb major is built from the B♭ major scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. B♭1
  2. C2
  3. D3
  4. E♭4
  5. F5
  6. G6
  7. A7

Smooth changes from Bb major

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of Bb major's own key: Eb and F.

  • GB♭E♭

    From Bb to Eb, play Eb in 2nd inversion (B♭–E♭–G): B♭ stays, D moves up a half step to E♭ and F moves up two half steps to G.

  • ACF

    From Bb to F, play F in 1st inversion (A–C–F): B♭ moves down a half step to A, D moves down two half steps to C and F stays.

Bb major on the staff and on guitar

♭
On the treble staff, B♭ sits on the middle line, D on the fourth line and F on the top line.
×13331B♭FB♭DF
A shape, 1st fretFrets, low E to high E: x 1 3 3 3 1
6fr134211B♭FB♭DFB♭
E shape, 6th fretFrets, low E to high E: 6 8 8 7 6 6

Keys with Bb major in them

  • E♭ majorVE♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭, Cm, Ddim
  • F majorIVF, Gm, Am, B♭, C, Dm, Edim
  • B♭ majorIB♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm, Adim
  • C minorVIICm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭
  • D minorVIDm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭, C
  • E♭ minorVFrom E♭ harmonic minor, which raises the scale's 7th note a half step so this chord leads back to E♭.
  • G minorIIIGm, Adim, B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F

Progressions that use it

  • I–IV–V, in B♭ major

    1. IB♭
    2. IVE♭
    3. VF

  • I–V–vi–IV, in B♭ major

    1. IB♭
    2. VF
    3. viGm
    4. IVE♭

  • vi–IV–I–V, in B♭ major

    1. viGm
    2. IVE♭
    3. IB♭
    4. VF

  • I–vi–IV–V (the 50s progression), in B♭ major

    1. IB♭
    2. viGm
    3. IVE♭
    4. VF

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the Bb major chord chart

Bb major chord on piano keyboard, notes B♭ D F
Download the Bb major chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for Bb major

B♭ major is the only major chord shaped black, white, white: the thumb takes the black key B♭, and the other two fingers play the white keys D and F. It is the first chord where most players have to put the thumb on a black key.

Where it goes wrong. The thumb. Players often try to keep it on white keys and end up twisting the hand. A thumb on a black key is normal in chords; move the whole hand forward a little so the thumb reaches B♭ comfortably and the fingers on D and F are still well on their keys.

How to practice it. Find B♭, the third black key of the group of three, then play the chord with fingers 1, 3 and 5. Lift and find it again by touch. Then try the change to E♭ in 2nd inversion (B♭–E♭–G): the thumb stays on B♭, and the middle finger moves to the black E♭.

What to listen for. The D in the middle makes it major. Lower it to D♭ and you have B♭ minor, where two of the three notes are black. Listen for the top F too: it is easy to play it too softly when the thumb is concentrating on the black key.

What to learn next. E♭ and F major, the IV and V chords in B♭.

Questions

What notes are in a Bb major chord?

B♭, D and F. B♭ is the root, D is a major 3rd above it and F is a perfect 5th above it.

How is Bb major different from Bb minor?

Only the middle note changes. Bb minor lowers D a half step to D♭; the other two notes stay.

Is Bb major the same as A# major?

Yes. On the piano they are the same three keys. Bb major is spelled B♭, D and F; A# major is spelled A♯, C𝄪 and E♯. Which name a piece uses depends on its key signature.

What does the chord symbol Bb mean?

A letter on its own means a major chord, so B♭ means Bb major: B♭, D and F. You may also see it written B♭M, B♭maj or B♭Δ.