B♭m7 chord
B♭m7 is B♭, D♭, F and A♭: 1–♭3–5–♭7 built on B♭. Below: guitar, piano and ukulele, each playable.
On guitar
x-1-3-1-2-1 · barre · hard
- Notes
- B♭ · D♭ · F · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- x-1-3-1-2-1
B♭m7 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · B♭–D♭–F–A♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- B♭ · D♭ · F · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7
B♭m7 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
1-1-1-1 · movable · medium
- Notes
- B♭ · D♭ · F · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 1-1-1-1
Changing out of B♭m7
The moves below are the ones you'll meet most, shown for guitar and piano.
- B♭m7 → E♭7 (V in A♭ major)
Guitar: B♭m7 (x-1-3-1-2-1) to E♭7 (x-x-1-3-2-3): your middle finger stays put, your index finger lands on the D string, 1st fret, the ring finger slides across to the G string at the same fret, the pinky finger comes down on the high E string, 3rd fret. Shared notes: B♭ and D♭.
Piano: B♭m7 to E♭7: play E♭7 in 2nd inversion (B♭–D♭–E♭–G) and B♭ and D♭ stay under the same fingers, while F moves down to E♭ and A♭ down to G. E♭7 - B♭m7 → C♯maj7 (IV in A♭ major)
Guitar: B♭m7 (x-1-3-1-2-1) to C♯maj7 (x-4-6-5-6-4): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 4th fret, your middle finger lands on the G string, 5th fret, move the ring finger to the D string, 6th fret, the pinky finger comes down on the B string, 6th fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. Listen for D♭, F and A♭, which stay put while the rest moves.
Piano: B♭m7 to C♯maj7: play C♯maj7 in 3rd inversion (B♯–C♯–E♯–G♯) and C♯, E♯ and G♯ stay under the same fingers, while B♭ moves up to B♯. C♯maj7 - B♭m7 → A♭maj7 (I in A♭ major)
Guitar: B♭m7 (x-1-3-1-2-1) to A♭maj7 (4-6-5-5-4-4): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 4th fret, the middle finger goes to the D string, 5th fret, move the ring finger to the G string, 5th fret, the pinky finger comes down on the A string, 6th fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. Shared note: A♭.
Piano: B♭m7 to A♭maj7: play A♭maj7 in 1st inversion (C–E♭–G–A♭) and A♭ stays under the same finger, while B♭ moves up to C, D♭ up to E♭ and F up to G. A♭maj7
Guitar with a capo: capo 1, Am7 shape; capo 6, Em7 shape. Ukulele with a capo: capo 1, Am7 shape; capo 6, Em7 shape.
How B♭m7 is built
B♭m7 is a minor seventh chord: a minor triad plus a minor seventh. It is mellow rather than sad, and slides easily into other chords, which is why funk, R&B and jazz lean on it.
Start on B♭, count 3 half steps up to D♭, 4 half steps up to F then 3 half steps up to A♭. A♯m7 is the other spelling of the same chord.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| B♭ | root | 0 | |
| D♭ | minor third | 3 | |
| F | perfect fifth | 7 | |
| A♭ | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with B♭m7
In major keys, B♭m7 is ii7 in A♭ major, iii7 in F♯ major and vi7 in D♭ major. In minor keys it is i7 in B♭ minor, iv7 in F minor and v7 in E♭ minor.
Play ii–V–I in A♭ major and you get B♭m7 – E♭7 – A♭maj7. the jazz cadence
Chords close to B♭m7
- B♭m7 is B♭m plus A♭. B♭m
Chords that share most of their notes with B♭m7: C♯6, C♯, B♭m, C♯7, C♯maj7, C♯add9.
Every B♭ chord
B♭m7 chord: questions
What notes are in the B♭m7 chord?
B♭, D♭, F and A♭. B♭m7 is built 1–♭3–5–♭7 from B♭: D♭ is the minor third, F is the perfect fifth and A♭ is the minor seventh.
How do you play B♭m7 on guitar?
The usual shape is x-1-3-1-2-1 (barre). All 4 guitar shapes.
How do you play B♭m7 on piano?
Play B♭, D♭, F and A♭ with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. B♭ sits on the last black key of the group of three. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play B♭m7 on ukulele?
1-1-1-1 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is B♭m7 in?
In major keys, B♭m7 is ii7 in A♭ major, iii7 in F♯ major and vi7 in D♭ major. In minor keys it is i7 in B♭ minor, iv7 in F minor and v7 in E♭ minor.
What's the difference between B♭m7 and B♭m?
B♭m7 is B♭m plus A♭.
Diagrams and sound come from the same data, tested so they match. Updated September 2026.