Bb minor chord on piano

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

  • B♭root, 1
  • D♭minor 3rd, ♭3
  • Fperfect 5th, 5
F5B♭1D♭3

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 minor 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 three half steps up, black and white keys alike, to D♭. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count four 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. F5B♭1D♭3

    Root position

    B♭, D♭, F

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

  2. F2D♭1B♭5

    1st inversion

    D♭, F, B♭

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

  3. F1B♭3D♭5

    2nd inversion

    F, B♭, D♭

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

Practice Bb minor

Hold each position of B♭ minor 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.

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

The shape of Bb minor

Bb minor is black, black, white: F is the only white key. No other minor chord has this pattern.

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

  1. B♭1
  2. C2
  3. D♭3
  4. E♭4
  5. F5
  6. G♭6
  7. A♭7

Smooth changes from Bb minor

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 minor's own key: Ebm and F.

  • B♭E♭G♭

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

  • ACF

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

Bb minor 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.
×13421B♭FB♭D♭F
Am shape, 1st fretFrets, low E to high E: x 1 3 3 2 1
6fr134111B♭FB♭D♭FB♭
Em shape, 6th fretFrets, low E to high E: 6 8 8 6 6 6

Keys with Bb minor in them

  • D♭ majorviD♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭, A♭, B♭m, Cdim
  • C♯ majorviC♯, D♯m, E♯m, F♯, G♯, A♯m, B♯dim
  • G♭ majoriiiG♭, A♭m, B♭m, C♭, D♭, E♭m, Fdim
  • F♯ majoriiiF♯, G♯m, A♯m, B, C♯, D♯m, E♯dim
  • A♭ majoriiA♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭, Fm, Gdim
  • E♭ minorvE♭m, Fdim, G♭, A♭m, B♭m, C♭, D♭
  • F minorivFm, Gdim, A♭, B♭m, Cm, D♭, E♭
  • B♭ minoriB♭m, Cdim, D♭, E♭m, Fm, G♭, A♭

Progressions that use it

  • i–VI–III–VII, in B♭ minor

    1. iB♭m
    2. VIG♭
    3. IIID♭
    4. VIIA♭

  • i–iv–v, in B♭ minor

    1. iB♭m
    2. ivE♭m
    3. vFm

  • i–VII–VI–V (Andalusian cadence), in B♭ minor

    1. iB♭m
    2. VIIA♭
    3. VIG♭
    4. VF

  • iiø7–V7–i, in B♭ minor

    1. iiø7Cm7♭5
    2. V7F7
    3. iB♭m

Related chords

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

Save or print the Bb minor chord chart

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

Practice notes for Bb minor

B♭ minor is the only minor chord shaped black, black, white: B♭ and D♭ are black keys, and F is white. It is the relative minor of D♭ major.

Where it goes wrong. With two black keys under the thumb and middle finger, the hand wants to sit forward, and then the little finger has to reach back to the white F. Let the little finger play the far end of F, near the black keys, and keep the fingers curved.

How to practice it. B♭ is the third black key of the group of three, and D♭ the first black key of the next group of two. Play B♭ major, then B♭ minor: only the middle finger moves, from the white D to the black D♭. Then practice the change to E♭ minor in 2nd inversion (B♭–E♭–G♭): all three notes are black keys.

What to listen for. Listen for the D♭ in the middle; if the middle finger catches the edge of the key, that note goes missing.

What to learn next. E♭ minor and F major, the iv and V chords in B♭ minor. F major uses A, the raised 7th of the key.

Questions

What notes are in a Bb minor chord?

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

How is Bb minor different from Bb major?

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

Is Bb minor the same as A# minor?

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

What does Bbm mean?

The small m means minor: B♭m is Bb minor, B♭, D♭ and F. You may also see it written B♭min or B♭−.