Bb Suspended Fourth

Symbols:Bbsus, Bbsus4
Scale Degree Formula:1-4-5
Interval Stack:P4 + M2
Notes:Bb, D#, F
Hear this chord:▸ Guitar
Inversions:Bbsus/D#, Bbsus/F

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 1-4-5, 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 (P4), 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♭5F5P4M2

Similar Chords

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

Chord TypeChords
7th Suspended FourthF7sus, Bb7sus
7th Suspended SecondD#7sus2
Added 9thD#add9
MajorD#, Bb
Major 2ndD#2
Major 7th Flat FifthBMaj7b5
Major Added 11thBbadd11
MinorD#m, Bbm
Minor 2ndD#m2
Minor Added 11thBbmadd11
Minor Added 9thD#madd9
PowerchordD#5, Bb5
Suspended SecondG#sus2, D#sus2, Bbsus2

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
BluesF, C, Bb
Blues MajorG#, D#, Bb
Blues MinorG, F, C
DorianG#, F, D#, C, Bb
Dorian b5F, C
Harmonic MajorD#, Bb
Harmonic MinorD#, Bb
Ionian #5F#, C#
LocrianA, G, F, D, C
Locrian bb7A, D
Locrian ♮6F, C
LydianG#, F#, D#, C#, B
Lydian #9F#, B
Lydian Augmented #2F#, B
Lydian b3G#, D#
MajorG#, F#, D#, C#, Bb
Major PentatonicG#, D#, C#
MinorG, F, D#, C, Bb
Minor PentatonicF, C, Bb
MixolydianG#, F, D#, C#, Bb
Mixolydian b2F, Bb
PhrygianG, F, D, C, Bb
Phrygian DominantF, Bb
Phrygian b4G, D
Super-Locrian bb7A, D
SuspendedF, D#, Bb
Ukrainian DorianG#, D#

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