# B♭ Minor piano chord (B♭m)

B♭m contains B♭, D♭ and F. A minor third with a perfect fifth above the root. B♭ and D♭ are black keys; F is white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor/b-flat/
- Entity: chord:minor:b-flat
- Notes: B♭ D♭ F
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4
- Also written: B♭m, Bbm, B♭ minor
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | B♭ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | D♭ | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | F | Perfect fifth | 7 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on B♭, finger 3 on D♭, finger 5 on F. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | B♭ | B♭3 D♭4 F4 | 5/3 | 7 st, 96 mm |
| First inversion (B♭m/D♭) | D♭ | D♭4 F4 B♭4 | 6/3 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (B♭m/F) | F | F4 B♭4 D♭5 | 6/4 | 8 st, 110 mm |

## Voicings (5)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | B♭3 D♭4 F4 | 7 st, 96 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | D♭4 F4 B♭4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | F4 B♭4 D♭5 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Open, fifth on top | B♭2 F3 D♭4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Root and third only | B♭3 D♭4 | 3 st, 41 mm | subset | omits F |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D♭ major | vi | Tonic substitute |
| E♭ minor | v | Minor dominant |
| F minor | iv | Subdominant |
| G♭ major | iii | Tonic substitute |
| A♭ major | ii | Predominant |
| B♭ minor | i | Tonic, home |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| vi, IV, I, V | D♭ major | vi | B♭m to G♭ to D♭ to A♭ | B♭m opens the phrase |
| I, vi | D♭ major | vi | D♭ to B♭m | 2 tones held from D♭ |
| v, i | E♭ minor | v | B♭m to E♭m | B♭m opens the phrase |
| ii°, v, i | E♭ minor | v | Fdim to B♭m to E♭m | 1 tone held from Fdim |
| iv, v, i | F minor | iv | B♭m to Cm to Fm | B♭m opens the phrase |
| i, iv | F minor | iv | Fm to B♭m | 1 tone held from Fm |
| iii, vi, ii, V | G♭ major | iii | B♭m to E♭m to A♭m to D♭ | B♭m opens the phrase |
| I, iii | G♭ major | iii | G♭ to B♭m | 2 tones held from G♭ |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| B♭m7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | adds A♭ | 3 |
| B♭mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | adds A | 3 |
| B♭m6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | adds G | 3 |
| B♭ | 1 3 5 | D♭ becomes D | 2 |
| B♭dim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | F becomes F♭ | 2 |
| B♭sus2 | 1 2 5 | D♭ becomes C | 2 |
| B♭sus4 | 1 4 5 | D♭ becomes E♭ | 2 |
| B♭maj7 | 1 3 5 7 | D♭ becomes D, A | 2 |
| B♭7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | D♭ becomes D, A♭ | 2 |
| B♭m7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | F becomes F♭, A♭ | 2 |
| B♭dim7 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭♭7 | F becomes F♭, A♭♭ | 2 |
| B♭7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | D♭ becomes E♭, A♭ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {10, 1, 5}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7]
- Normal order: [10, 1, 5]
- Prime form: (037)
- Forte number: 3-11
- Interval vector: <001110>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz |
| D♭4 | 61 | 277.18 Hz |
| F4 | 65 | 349.23 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in B♭m?

B♭m contains B♭, D♭ and F. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5.

### How do you play B♭m on piano?

Play B♭, D♭ and F together. Right hand fingers 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1. B♭ and D♭ are black keys; F is white.

### What are the inversions of B♭m?

3 positions: root position B♭ D♭ F, B♭m/D♭, B♭m/F.

### What keys contain B♭m?

6: vi in D♭ major, v in E♭ minor, iv in F minor, iii in G♭ major, ii in A♭ major, i in B♭ minor.

### What is the difference between B♭m and B♭m7?

Adds A♭. 3 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy B♭m for small hands?

The root and third only voicing, B♭3 D♭4, spans 3 semitones or about 41 mm.

### What are the frequencies of B♭m?

From B♭3 at A440 in 12-TET: 233.08, 277.18, 349.23 Hz.

### What is the set class of B♭m?

Prime form (037), Forte 3-11, interval vector &lt;001110&gt;.

### How do I transpose B♭m to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5 formula on the new root. Cm is C, E♭, G; C♯m is C♯, E, G♯.

### Is A♯m the same as B♭m?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor:b-flat
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12