How to Play Bb Piano Chord

The Bb piano chord is a major chord and made up of the 3 notes Bb D and F. While this chord isn't one of the very first chords to learn, it's often the first chord with flats.

B flat major chord can feel awkward to play after playing on all white notes so be sure to look below to recommended fingering for this chord.

You'll also find:

Bb piano chord notes
Bb piano chord chart
video on how to play it
which fingers to use for Bb major
Bb/D piano chord
Bb/F piano chord
Bb chord inversions
and some chord theory for B flat major chord

Bb Piano Chord Notes

The notes of the Bb chord are Bb D F.

Bb is a major chord (more on this below) and has one black note - the Bb - and 2 white notes. This can feel a bit awkward to play in the beginning.

You can play the full chord in root position (Bb D F) in the left hand or the right hand.

I usually will play the root note - B flat - in my left hand and the chord (plus melody) in my right hand. I would say this is what you want to aim for but do what works for you now.

Bb Piano Chord Chart

How to Play Bb Major Chord - Video

The video below will show you how to play the Bb major chord in root position. You can also hear how it sounds.

Bb Piano Chord Finger Positions

The Bb chord is one I often get questions about in terms of which fingers to use. This is one chord where you do need to angle your hand a bit and it feels different than other chords - especially ones on only white notes.

For the Bb piano chord, still use the standard chord finger positions - fingers 1, 3 and 5. That's your thumb, middle finger and pinkie in either hand.

Angle your hand so it feels more comfortable, it may not at first, but it'll get better.

Bb/D Piano Chord

The Bb/D chord is a slash chord. You play this chord by playing D in your left hand and the rest of the chord notes (Bb and F) above that.

D needs to be your lowest note here - it's your bass note. Usually Bb is the bass note since it's the root note. In this case, we're going for a slightly different sound and so D is the bass note.

Bb/F Piano Chord

Bb/F is another type of slash chord. For this one, you play F as the lowest note in your left hand. F is the bass note for the chord.

If you are playing chords in your left hand only, you will need to play the chord in an inversion (see below) to play either Bb/D or Bb/F since you need to note after the slash to be the lowest note played.

Bb Piano Chord Inversions

Inversions, chords in different but standard positions, may come in pretty useful for the Bb major chord. You might find some positions feel more comfortable to play.

Inversions are also really helpful when it comes to adding melody to chords because you can add melody on the top of the chords.

The inversions for Bb major chord are:

Root: Bb D F

1st Inversion: D F Bb

2nd Inversion: F Bb D

Chord Theory For B Flat Major Chord

You can figure out any major chord, like the B flat major chord, from the major scale starting with the same name.

In this case, we can work out Bb major chord from the Bb major scale. This scale and key has the key signature of Bb and Eb.

B Flat Major Scale

Major chords are built of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the major scale. Looking at the picture of the scale above, you can see that those notes are Bb (1), D (3) and F (5).

And that's how you get the Bb major chord.

If you need more help understanding key signatures, visit the key signatures page.

If you need to look up more chords, visit the Piano Chord Charts page or download your own copy below.

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Ultimate Chord Cheat Sheet

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