B♭maj7

B♭1D3F5A7

Major triad with a major seventh: a half step below the root, an octave up.

Written the other way round it is A♯maj7 — the same twelve keys on a piano, a different piece of notation.

on guitar on piano the scale

Every fingering that fits a hand

Fig. 2

3210

open

Fig. 3

3250

easy · no 5

Fig. 4

3555

moderate

Fig. 5

3255

hard · no 5

Fig. 6

325x

easy · no 5

What is true of it

B♭maj7 is B♭, D, F and A — 1, 3, 5 and 7 counted from B♭.

On an instrument that cannot reach all 4, the 5 goes first, in that order.

The easiest of the 5 fingerings below is 3210: 3 fingers, held at the 1st fret.

1 of them use open strings, which is what makes a shape quiet to change to.

Where its notes are on the neck

Fig. 7 — first 12 frets

The brass dots are B♭, the root. Everything else is a chord tone with its degree printed in it.

With a different note underneath

first inversion

B♭maj7/D

7968

second inversion

B♭maj7/F

aaac

third inversion

B♭maj7/A

2211

An inversion is the same chord with a different note lowest. The name changes to a slash name because the bass is what a listener hears as the foundation.

B♭ in other shapes

B♭7dominant seventh B♭m7minor seventh B♭m(maj7)minor major seventh B♭major B♭mminor B♭dimdiminished

Cmaj7 C♯maj7 D♭maj7 Dmaj7 D♯maj7 E♭maj7 Emaj7 Fmaj7 all 374