B♭ m7 Chord — Guitar Diagram & Voicings

Sign up free to save favorites

100% free. No credit card required.

B♭ Minor 7th Chord

– – –

Formula R – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7

B♭ Minor 7th is built from the notes B♭, D♭, F, A♭. The interval from B♭ to D♭ is a minor 3rd (3 semitones), from B♭ to F is a perfect 5th (7 semitones), from B♭ to A♭ is a minor 7th (10 semitones). This chord contains 3 flatted notes.

The minor 7th is smooth, mellow, and endlessly versatile. It's the chord that makes R&B sound like silk, gives jazz its sophisticated cool, and turns any groove into something you can sink into. If you only learn one extended minor chord, this is the one.

Theory

The minor 7th (R, ♭3, 5, ♭7) stacks a minor third, a major third, and another minor third. It naturally shows up on the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th degrees of the major scale. Its most famous role is as the 2nd chord leading into a resolution — like Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7, the most fundamental movement in jazz. The ♭7 adds warmth and depth to the minor triad without heaviness, giving it a reflective, soulful quality.

On the guitar

Am7 and Em7 are incredibly easy open shapes — just lift one finger from Am or Em. The 6th-string and 5th-string root barre shapes cover the whole neck and are essential vocabulary. Funk players strip minor 7ths down to the top three or four strings and add hammer-ons to the 11th or 13th to keep things punchy and rhythmic.

Advanced

In R&B and neo-soul, minor 7ths are the default texture — they create that laid-back, groove-heavy atmosphere where everything just floats. Try removing the root from your voicings and playing just the upper notes on strings 1-4 for a modern, open sound. In modal jazz, a single minor 7th chord can sustain an entire section — Miles Davis proved it with "So What."

Piano