As a minor tonicB♭ minor
The natural-minor loop - every chord is drawn from the key's own seven notes.
B♭m6 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The B♭m6 chord is a minor sixth chord built on the root note B♭. Its notes are B♭, D♭, F and G. It's enharmonically the same chord as A♯m6.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Minor sixth chords are darker than a plain minor triad but never sour. A major sixth sitting over a minor third gives them a wistful, cinematic quality that turns up in bossa nova, French chanson and film noir scores.
- Notes
- B♭ · D♭ · F · G
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · 6
- Semitones
- 0 · 3 · 7 · 9
- Note
- B♭
- Quality
- Minor 6
- Symbol
- B♭m6
B♭m6 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play B♭m6 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on B♭, index finger on D♭, middle finger on F and little finger on G. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard B♭ and D♭ are black keys and F and G 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
- D♭♭3
- F5
- G6
B♭m6 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, B♭m6 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 3. String 3 rings open. Don't play string 6.
B♭ · D♭ · F · G
Play B♭m6 on the online piano
Free, in your browser: play with the mouse, your computer keyboard or a USB MIDI keyboard. No sign-up.
B♭m6 chord notes
Also known as A♯m6
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | B♭(Bb) | |
| ♭3 | Minor third | 3 | D♭(Db) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | F | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | G |
How to use the B♭m6 chord
The B♭m6 chord is built from a root, a minor third, a perfect fifth and a major sixth. Start at the root B♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: B♭, D♭, F and G. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Minor sixth chords act as the iv chord in a major key or as the tonic of a Dorian passage, and they are a staple of jazz turnarounds. They also make a striking substitute for a plain minor chord at a cadence.
How B♭m6 differs from similar chords
B♭m6 adds a major sixth to B♭m, where B♭m7 adds a minor seventh a half step higher. That major sixth forms a tritone with the minor third, which gives the chord its bittersweet tension. The same four notes spell the half-diminished chord built on its sixth.
Where B♭m6 is used
A minor chord works as the tonic of its own key, and as the vi or the ii of a major one. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the B♭m6 chord?
- The B♭m6 chord contains B♭, D♭, F and G (Bb, Db, F and G in plain text).
- Is the B♭m6 chord major or minor?
- B♭m6 is a minor sixth chord. Minor sixth chords are darker than a plain minor triad but never sour. A major sixth sitting over a minor third gives them a wistful, cinematic quality that turns up in bossa nova, French chanson and film noir scores.
- How do you play B♭m6 on piano?
- Place your fingers on B♭, D♭, F and G 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♭ and D♭ are black keys and F and G 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♭m6 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 1 and 3. String 3 rings open. Don't play string 6.
- What is another name for the B♭m6 chord?
- B♭m6 is enharmonically equivalent to A♯m6. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.