Bb Dominant 7th

Symbols:Bb7, Bbdom7
Scale Degree Formula:1-3-5-♭7
Interval Stack:M3 + m3 + m3
Notes:Bb, D, F, G#
Hear this chord:▸ Guitar
Inversions:Bb7/D, Bb7/F, Bb7/G#

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the Bb major scale, and number each note in the scale starting from 1 - these are the scale degrees. Next, we use the scale degree formula, in this case 1-3-5-♭7, to select notes from our enumerated scale. When a chord requires notes that are not in the scale, this is indicated with a flat (♭) or a sharp (#) along with the scale degree; a ♭3, for instance, would be one half-step down from the 3rd scale degree.
Alternatively, we can use the interval stack to construct our chord. With this approach, we first start with the lowest note of the chord (Bb), then move our first interval (M3), which brings us to our second note in the chord (D). We repeatedly apply each of the remaining intervals in the stack to get the full list of notes for our chord.
The diagram below shows how both the scale degree formula and interval stack methods result in the same selection of notes:
Bb1B♭2C2C#♭3D3D#4E♭5F5F##5G6G#♭7M3m3m3

Similar Chords

The following chords are similar to this chord and may be a suitable replacement in certain scenarios.

Chord TypeChords
7th Suspended FourthBb7sus
7th Suspended SecondBb7sus2
Added 9thBbadd9
Augmented Major 7thF#+Maj7
DiminishedDdim
Diminished 7thG#dim7, Fdim7, Ddim7, Bdim7
Diminished Major 7thDdimMaj7, BdimMaj7
Dominant 6thBb7(6)
Dominant 7th Flat 9thBb7b9
Dominant 7th Flat FifthE7b5, Bb7b5
Dominant 7th Flat Five Flat 9thE7b5b9
Dominant 7th Flat ThirteenthBb7b13
Dominant 7th Sharp 9thBb7#9
Dominant 7th Sharp FifthBb7#5
Dominant 9thBb9
Half-Diminished 7thDm7(b5)
MajorBb
Major 2ndBb2
Major 6thC#M6, BbM6
Major 7thBbM7
Major Added 11thBbadd11
Minor 6thFm6
Minor 7thGm7, Bbm7
Minor Added 11thFmadd11

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
DorianF
Dorian b5G#, F
Harmonic MajorF#, D#
Harmonic MinorD#
Ionian #5F#
LocrianD
Locrian bb7F, D
Locrian ♮6F
LydianG#
Lydian #9B
Lydian Augmented #2D, B
Lydian b3G#, B
MajorD#
MinorC
MixolydianBb
Mixolydian b2C#, Bb
PhrygianG
Phrygian DominantBb
Phrygian b4G, Bb
Super-Locrian bb7D
Ukrainian DorianG#

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