B♭ dominant seventh

B♭7

Also written A♯7 · B♭dom7 · B♭ dominant 7

NotesB♭ · D · F · A♭
Formula1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
D3F5B♭1A♭♭7
Root position

The dominant seventh: V of E♭ major. B♭7 resolves to E♭ (or E♭m), its 3rd rising a semitone to E♭ and its ♭7 falling to G. The 3rd and ♭7 are a tritone apart, and E7 has the same tritone — the tritone substitute.

How pianists voice B♭7

Nobody plays a jazz chord in root position. These are the shapes that actually get played — the same ones Cadenza shows when you play the chord.

Shell Left hand

D3B♭1A♭♭7

1 · 3 · ♭7 — root, 3rd and 7th: the three notes that say what the chord is. Left hand, low; everything else is colour.

Rootless A From the 3rd

D3F5C9A♭♭7

3 · 5 · ♭7 · 9 — no root: the bass player has it. The left-hand voicing of modern jazz piano. Without B♭ underneath, the same keys read as Dø7 — the bass turns them into B♭7.

Rootless B From the 7th

C9D3F5A♭♭7

♭7 · 9 · 3 · 5 — the other half of the pair. A and B alternate through a ii–V–I so the hand barely moves.

Drop 2 Two hands

F5D3B♭1A♭♭7

5 · 1 · 3 · ♭7 — close position with the second voice from the top dropped an octave: wider, warmer, the standard for chord melody.

B♭7 inversions

The same 4 notes with a different one in the bass. Each inversion is written as a slash chord.

Root position B♭7

D3F5B♭1A♭♭7

Root at the bottom, stacked in 3rds: 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7.

1st inversion B♭7/D

D3F5A♭♭7B♭1

D (the 3) in the bass: 3 · 5 · ♭7 · 1.

2nd inversion B♭7/F

F5D3A♭♭7B♭1

F (the 5) in the bass: 5 · ♭7 · 1 · 3.

3rd inversion B♭7/A♭

D3F5A♭♭7B♭1

A♭ (the ♭7) in the bass: ♭7 · 1 · 3 · 5.

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