B♭ Minor 7th
B♭m7
Notes
B♭ · D♭ · F · A♭
Intervals
- RootB♭ (1P)
- Minor 3rdD♭ (3m)
- Perfect 5thF (5P)
- Minor 7thA♭ (7m)
Fretboard
Adjust labels, frets, and palette in the interactive view.
Voicings & shapes
Drop-2 voicings (12)
Drop-3 voicings (8)
Shell voicings (2)
About
The B♭ minor 7th (B♭–D♭–F–A♭) combines a minor triad with a minor seventh. The A♭ softens the minor triad, giving m7 a more open, fluid sound than a plain minor chord. The D♭ and A♭ are the two essential tones — together they define both the minor quality and the seventh extension; the 5th can be dropped. In jazz, m7 is the standard ii in major ii–V–I progressions (B♭m7 → E♭7 → A♭Maj7) and a common tonic color in modal contexts. In funk and soul, it provides warmth without the tension of a dominant chord. Compared to B♭m, m7 is less tense and more harmonically relaxed; compared to B♭m9, less ornamental.
Chord diagrams
Bb Minor 7th voicing charts — tap a sheet to open it full size to save or print.
Similar chords
Chords sharing two or more notes with this one, ranked by overlap.
Scales containing this chord
- B♭ Blues (deg 1)
- B♭ Dorian (I)
- B♭ Minor Pentatonic (deg 1)
- B♭ Natural Minor (I)
- B♭ Phrygian (I)
- A♭ Diminished (deg 2)
- A♭ Dorian (II)
- A♭ Major (II)
- A♭ Melodic Minor (II)
- A♭ Mixolydian (II)
- B Diminished (deg 8)
- B Lydian (VII)
- C Locrian (VII)
- C Phrygian (VII)
- D Diminished (deg 6)
- D♭ Lydian (VI)
- D♭ Major (VI)
- D♭ Major Pentatonic (deg 5)
- D♭ Mixolydian (VI)
- E♭ Dorian (V)
- E♭ Mixolydian (V)
- E♭ Natural Minor (V)
- F Diminished (deg 4)
- F Harmonic Minor (IV)
- F Locrian (IV)
- F Natural Minor (IV)
- F Phrygian (IV)
- F♯ Lydian (III)
- F♯ Major (III)
- G Locrian (III)
Scales whose notes include every chord tone. The Roman numeral (or scale degree) marks the chord root’s position in the scale.