B♭5 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The B♭5 chord is a power chord built on the root note B♭. Its notes are B♭ and F. It's enharmonically the same chord as A♯5.
Power chords have no third at all, only a root and a fifth, so they are neither major nor minor. That emptiness is the point: run one through a distorted amp and it stays clean and thick where a full triad would turn to mud.
- Notes
- B♭ · F
- Formula
- 1 · 5
- Semitones
- 0 · 7
- Note
- B♭
- Quality
- Power Chord (5)
- Symbol
- B♭5
B♭5 on piano
2 notes
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play B♭5 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on B♭ and little finger on F. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard B♭ is a black key and F is white. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- B♭1
- F5
B♭5 on guitar
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, B♭5 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 3. Don't play strings 6, 2 and 1.
B♭ · F
Play B♭5 on the online piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
B♭5 chord notes
Also known as A♯5
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | B♭(Bb) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | F |
How to use the B♭5 chord
The B♭5 chord is built from a root and a perfect fifth. Start at the root B♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: B♭ and F. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Power chords drive punk, metal, grunge and hard rock, played on the low strings with distortion. Guitarists move a single shape up and down the neck, which is why riffs built from them transpose so easily.
How B♭5 differs from similar chords
B♭5 holds only the root and the fifth, so unlike B♭ or B♭m it has no third to decide its colour. With two notes it is the smallest chord in the library, often doubled with the root an octave up. The same B♭5 shape therefore fits major and minor songs alike.
Where B♭5 is used
No progression is shown for a power chord
B♭5 has no third, so it carries no major or minor function and cannot take a Roman numeral. Any progression printed here would belong to a different chord.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the B♭5 chord?
- The B♭5 chord contains B♭ and F (Bb and F in plain text).
- Is the B♭5 chord major or minor?
- B♭5 is a power chord. Power chords have no third at all, only a root and a fifth, so they are neither major nor minor. That emptiness is the point: run one through a distorted amp and it stays clean and thick where a full triad would turn to mud.
- How do you play B♭5 on piano?
- Place your fingers on B♭ and F and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard B♭ is a black key and F is white. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play B♭5 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 3. Don't play strings 6, 2 and 1.
- What is another name for the B♭5 chord?
- B♭5 is enharmonically equivalent to A♯5. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.