As the tonic (I)B♭ major
Home. The loop leaves B♭6/9 and keeps coming back to it.
B♭6/9 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The B♭6/9 chord is a six-nine chord built on the root note B♭. Its notes are B♭, D, F, G and C. It's enharmonically the same chord as A♯6/9.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Six-nine chords sound bright and pleasantly unresolved. A major sixth and a ninth sit on the triad with no seventh at all, so the chord never pulls toward a resolution and can simply sit there, which is why bands often end a song on one.
- Notes
- B♭ · D · F · G · C
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 6 · 9
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 9 · 14
- Note
- B♭
- Quality
- Six-Nine
- Symbol
- B♭6/9
B♭6/9 on piano
5 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play B♭6/9 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on B♭, index finger on C, middle finger on D, ring finger on F and little finger on G. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard B♭ is a black key and D, F, G and C are 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
- C9
- D3
- F5
- G6
B♭6/9 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, B♭6/9 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. Strings 4 and 3 ring open. Don't play string 6.
B♭ · D · F · G · C
Try B♭6/9 on the virtual piano
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B♭6/9 chord notes
Also known as A♯6/9
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | B♭(Bb) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | D | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | F | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | G | |
| 9 | Major ninth | 14 | C |
How to use the B♭6/9 chord
The B♭6/9 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth, a major sixth and a major ninth. Start at the root B♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: B♭, D, F, G and C. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Six-nine chords are a favourite ending for jazz standards and pop ballads, taking the place of a plain major or major seventh chord as the final I. They also work as a colourful substitute for a major triad anywhere in a progression.
How B♭6/9 differs from similar chords
B♭6/9 adds both the sixth and the ninth to B♭ and leaves out the seventh, which separates it from B♭maj9 and B♭13. With no seventh and no fourth, none of its notes clash, so nothing in it needs to resolve. Its five notes are the major pentatonic scale stacked into one chord.
Where B♭6/9 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the B♭6/9 chord?
- The B♭6/9 chord contains B♭, D, F, G and C (Bb, D, F, G and C in plain text).
- Is the B♭6/9 chord major or minor?
- B♭6/9 is a six-nine chord. Six-nine chords sound bright and pleasantly unresolved. A major sixth and a ninth sit on the triad with no seventh at all, so the chord never pulls toward a resolution and can simply sit there, which is why bands often end a song on one.
- How do you play B♭6/9 on piano?
- Place your fingers on B♭, D, F, G and C 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 D, F, G and C are 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♭6/9 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. Strings 4 and 3 ring open. Don't play string 6.
- What is another name for the B♭6/9 chord?
- B♭6/9 is enharmonically equivalent to A♯6/9. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.