CHORD REFERENCE

B♭6

B♭ – D – F – G1 3 5 6

The B♭ Major 6th chord and everything around it — the notes and how they are built, the shape on piano and guitar, the sound, and the keys it belongs to.

Notes
B♭1D3F5G6

B♭6 is Bb, D, F, G — the 1, 3, 5 and 6 above the root B♭.

Piano
DFGB♭
Guitar

Ways to play it

E-shape barre — 6th fret
6fr
A-shape barre — 1st fret
×

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eFGB♭DBDFGB♭GGB♭DFGDDFGB♭DAB♭DFGEFGB♭D

Root notes are red. The shapes above are movable — an E-shape has its root on the low E string, an A-shape on the A string. any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

357912AB♭DFGEFGB♭DCDFGB♭GGB♭DFG

Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only Bb, D, F, G plays the chord.

In which keys

B♭6 is a colour chord — it is not diatonic to a plain major or minor key, which is what gives it its character. It shows up as a borrowed chord, an altered dominant, or a passing sound.

Other B♭ chords

Triads

B♭MajorB♭mMinorB♭5Power Chord (5)B♭dimDiminishedB♭augAugmentedB♭sus2Suspended 2ndB♭sus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

B♭m6Minor 6thB♭7Dominant 7thB♭maj7Major 7thB♭m7Minor 7thB♭m(maj7)Minor–Major 7thB♭dim7Diminished 7thB♭m7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)B♭7sus47sus4

Altered dominants

B♭7♭57♭5B♭7♯57♯5 (Augmented 7th)B♭7♭97♭9B♭7♯97♯9 (Hendrix Chord)

Extended & added

B♭add9Added 9thB♭6/96/9B♭9Dominant 9thB♭maj9Major 9thB♭m9Minor 9thB♭11Dominant 11thB♭13Dominant 13th
Major 6th on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭EFF♯G♭GA♭G♯AB♭B
Keep exploring

Work out the chords of a whole key with the Scale & Chord Finder, name a chord from its notes with the Chord Identifier, or browse every chord tool. The theory behind how chords are built is in the free Cloud Atelier music guides.