Bbm piano chord, Bb minor notes and fingering.

The Bbm piano chord is Bb minor: the notes Bb, Db and F played together. It is a root (Bb), a minor third (Db, three semitones above the root) and a perfect fifth (F, seven semitones above). Chord charts write it as Bbm or Bbmin.

How to play Bbm on piano

1. Find Bb on the keyboard. Bb is the third black key of the group of three, just before B. It is the same key as A#.
2. With your right hand, put finger 1 on Bb, finger 3 on Db and finger 5 on F. Finger 1 is the thumb.
3. Press all three keys together. In root position they run from Bb3 to F4, a reach of 7 semitones. Play chord sounds them together and Arpeggio sounds them one by one, from the bottom up.
4. Click Left hand to see the left hand. It plays Bb2 to F3, one octave lower: Bb with finger 5, Db with finger 3, F with finger 1.
5. The cards under the keyboard hold the three positions, with Bb, Db and F at the bottom in turn. Play and Arpeggio on a card play that position.
6. Open Note names. As written the keys read Bb, Db and F. Sharps shows A#, C# and F, and Flats shows Bb, Db and F. This chord is written with flats, so As written and Flats match.

How Bbm is built

Counted from the root, the formula is 0, 3, 7. Stacked on each other the gaps are 3 + 4: a minor third (Bb to Db) with a major third (Db to F) on top. A minor triad is a major triad with the third moved down one semitone. Bb major and Bb minor share Bb and F, and only the middle note differs: D against Db.

Worked example: the pitch of Bb3. On a piano tuned to A4 = 440 Hz, a note 11 semitones below A4 has the frequency 440 × 2^(-11/12), which is about 233.08 Hz. Db4 is 8 semitones below A4, so 440 × 2^(-8/12) gives about 277.18 Hz.

Bbm and A#m are the same chord on the keyboard: the same three keys sound for both. Written as A#m it reads A#, C# and E#. The key of Bb minor has 5 flats and the key of A# minor has 7 sharps.

What the keys look like under your hand

The white keys beside Bb are A on the left and B on the right, a semitone each way. Two of the three notes are black keys (Bb and Db) and one is a white key (F). Your thumb lands on Bb, a black key with A and B beside it. Keep the thumb relaxed and slightly curved, and let the wrist stay level instead of twisting to reach. Finger 3 presses Db, a black key between C and D. The middle fingers are the longest, so they reach black keys most easily.

Bbm inversions and fingering

Bbm has three positions. In root position Bb is at the bottom. In the first inversion, Db is at the bottom and the chord is written Bbm/Db. In the second inversion, F is at the bottom and the chord is written Bbm/F. The tightest reach, 7 semitones from the lowest key to the highest, is the root position. The widest, at 9, is the first inversion.

The keys that hold Bbm

Bbm fits six of the major and natural minor keys that have a standard key signature, which means every note of it comes from that key's scale. The simplest is Ab major, with 4 flats, where it is chord ii.

Progressions that use Bbm, with the chord numbers and the chords in that key:

• Ab major: ii-V-I, which is Bbm, Eb, Ab, the ii-V-I, the standard jazz resolution.
• F minor: i-iv-v-i, which is Fm, Bbm, Cm, Fm, the minor-key cadence.
• Db major: I-V-vi-IV, which is Db, Ab, Bbm, Gb, the four-chord loop heard in a great deal of pop.

Here is a worked example in Ab major. The chord before Bbm in the first progression above is Ab (Ab, C and Eb). From Ab in root position, the closest way to reach Bbm is its root position (Bb, Db and F, lowest note first): no note stays in place, and the notes move 5 semitones in total, counting each note against the note in the same place from the bottom.

What Bbm sounds like

Minor chords sound darker and more serious than major ones, and they carry the mood of many songs. They are not only for sad music, though: in a major key the ii, iii and vi chords are all minor, so a bright song uses them too.

Bbm is the ii chord in Ab major, the iv chord in F minor and the vi chord in Db major.

A common mistake with Bbm

A common mistake is pressing D instead of Db, one semitone higher than the third of Bbm. That turns the chord into Bb major (Bb, D and F). If your Bbm sounds too bright, check the middle finger first.

Chords to learn next

Chords close to Bbm: Bb major (same root, with a major third; shares Bb and F); Bbm7 (adds a minor seventh; contains all its notes); Bbdim (lowers the fifth; shares Bb and Db); Db major (its relative major; shares Db and F).

Once Bbm feels easy, play it and then Bb major to hear what one note changes. For chords beyond these six types, and for guitar and ukulele shapes, use the chord finder. To play along with your computer keys, open the virtual piano. The piano chords page lists all 72 chords.