Bbmaj7 — Bb major seventh chord
A major triad with a major seventh added. The interval between the third and the seventh is a major third, which is why the chord sounds stable.
- 1 = Bb
- 3 = D
- 5 = F
- 7 = A
- Symbol
- Bbmaj7
- Root
- Bb
- Quality
- Major seventh
- Family
- seventh
- Notes
- Bb D F A
- Degree formula
1 3 5 7- Semitones from the root
0 4 7 11- Distinct pitch classes
- 4
- Interval structure
- Stacked from the root: 4 semitones, 3 semitones, 4 semitones
- Notation
- Written maj7, M7 or a triangle. The tonic chord of a major key in jazz harmony.
- Key
- Bb · Bb major / G minor key signature
Formula
The chord tones in order from the root, with the interval each one forms above it.
| Degree | Note | Semitones | Interval from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bb | 0 | Perfect unison |
| 3 | D | 4 | Major third |
| 5 | F | 7 | Perfect fifth |
| 7 | A | 11 | Major seventh |
Inversions
An inversion is the same set of notes with a different one in the bass. The last column gives the distance of each note above the bass note, in semitones.
| Inversion | Bass note | Degree in the bass | Notes above the bass | Semitones above the bass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| root position | Bb | 1 | Bb – D – F – A | 0 4 7 11 |
| first inversion | D | 3 | D – F – A – Bb | 0 3 7 8 |
| second inversion | F | 5 | F – A – Bb – D | 0 4 5 9 |
| third inversion | A | 7 | A – Bb – D – F | 0 1 5 8 |
Playable voicings
These shapes were found by searching the fretboard of a standard-tuned guitar (E A D G B E) rather than copied from a chord book. The search allows every string to sound or to be muted, rejects any shape with a muted string between two sounding strings, rejects any shape whose fretted notes span more than four frets (a five-fret window), requires every chord tone to be present, and then sorts what remains with root-position shapes first and the most compact, lowest shapes next. The shapes shown are the first six of that ordering; other orderings are possible at the same frets.
| # | Shape (low string first) | Notes | Degrees | Bass | Span (frets) | Sounding strings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6-5-7-7-6-5 | Bb D A D F A | 1 3 7 3 5 7 | Bb | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 6-5-7-7-6-6 | Bb D A D F Bb | 1 3 7 3 5 1 | Bb | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 6-8-7-7-6-6 | Bb F A D F Bb | 1 5 7 3 5 1 | Bb | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 6-5-3-3-3-5 | Bb D F Bb D A | 1 3 5 1 3 7 | Bb | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | 6-5-3-3-6-5 | Bb D F Bb F A | 1 3 5 1 5 7 | Bb | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | 6-5-8-7-6-5 | Bb D Bb D F A | 1 3 1 3 5 7 | Bb | 3 | 6 |
Shape numbers run from the lowest string to the highest, so the left-hand number is the sixth string (low E) in standard tuning. Multiple shapes are listed because a chord can be voiced several ways, and because a lower position is not always the better sounding one.
Related chords and scales
- KeyEverything in Bb
- ScaleBb major
- ChordBb
- ChordBbmaj9
- ChordDm7
Related
- KeyKey of Bb
- ScaleBb major
- ChordBb — Major
- ChordBbmaj9 — Major ninth
- ChordDm7 — Minor seventh
- ChordBbdim7 — Diminished seventh
- ChordBb7 — Dominant seventh
- ChordBbm7 — Minor seventh