Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
No Surprises
Artists The elegant simplicity of Radiohead’s second biggest song
The Spice Girls
Artists Greg Lester on how he crafted the classic nylon-string guitar solo in the Spice Girls’ 2 Become 1
Yes backstage
Artists Unpacking the technical genius behind one of the most iconic rock songs of the 1980s
Elton John and Davey Johnstone perform at the piano during their 2012 tour, with Johnstone playing the Les Paul Custom 'Black Beauty' that John originally bought for himself, but gave it to Johnstone after the band had all their gear stolen.
Artists Davey Johnstone on guitar shopping with Elton John – and how he ended up with his iconic Les Paul Custom
Green square on a cream background
Singles And Albums "This record shouldn’t, strictly speaking, be possible at all”: Here's Autechre – reinterpreted on acoustic guitar
Justin Hawkins
Artists “He wanted it to sound tinny, so he literally put the mic in a tin”: When The Darkness teamed up with Queen’s producer
Tom Morello
Artists How Tom Morello used his guitar to drill into the off-limits domain of the turntablist
John Mayer
Artists “It wasn’t anywhere close to being a single”: The classic track that defines John Mayer as a guitarist and a songwriter
A PRS McCarty 594 on a hard case
Electric Guitars Best electric guitars 2025: Our pick of guitars to suit all budgets
Close up of a Taylor GS Mini acoustic guitar lying on a wooden floor
Acoustic Guitars Best acoustic guitars 2025: Super steel string acoustics for all players and budgets
Gary Numan
Artists The true meaning and dense theory of one of Gary Numan’s most beloved tracks
Two Taylor beginner acoustic guitars lying on a purple floor
Acoustic Guitars Best acoustic guitar for beginners 2025: Strum your first chords with our choice of beginner acoustic guitars
Gretsch Electromatic CVT Double-Cut in Wychwood greenburst finish
Electric Guitars "For garage, punk, and rock styles, it’s got the tonal firepower on offer": Gretsch Electromatic CVT Double-Cut review
Van Morrison
Artists How Van Morrison recorded his greatest song
Compressor settings
Tutorials Produce better music with our ultimate compression cheat sheet
More
  • "The most expensive bit of drumming in history”
  • JoBo x Fuchs
  • Radiohead Daydreaming
  • Vanilla Fudge
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Tutorials
  2. Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
  3. Guitar Chords

Guitar chord vocab: B flat major

Tuition
By Adrian Clark ( Guitarist ) published 25 September 2015

Perk up your Bb shapes with these cunning ideas

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Bb barre

Bb barre

Chords in ‘flat’ keys tend to be limited to the same old movable shapes that you’ve seen before, but you can find some exceptions if you’re crafty.

Here's the standard Bb barre we all know and love.

Page 1 of 4
Page 1 of 4
Bbadd9

Bbadd9

Here’s another chord using the same shape as Bm11 and G6add9 (no 3rd). This one will also work together with the G.

Page 2 of 4
Page 2 of 4
Bbmaj9#11

Bbmaj9#11

This one’s a bit more mysterious-sounding and has a couple of open strings, unusual for a Bb chord. Be careful, however, as the #11 could easily clash with other chords in a song.

Page 3 of 4
Page 3 of 4
Bb6add9

Bb6add9

This chord’s upbeat sound is reminiscent of Gypsy jazz or western swing. It works well as an arpeggio, too.

Page 4 of 4
Page 4 of 4
Adrian Clark
Read more
Creating chord progressions in Ableton Live
Creating chords for electronic music: 3 ways to generate more interesting progressions in Ableton Live 12
 
 
Bass
37 heavyweight bass production tips
 
 
Jon Batiste
Jon Batiste answers the internet’s piano queries and agrees with one potentially controversial musical statement
 
 
Ableton Live MIDI tools tutorial
Stuck for ideas? Here's how to create fresh basslines and melodies with Ableton Live 12’s MIDI tools
 
 
Ozzy Osbourne and Zakk Wylde tear it up onstage in 1989. Ozzy is shirtless. Wylde his shirtless, too – and he plays his bullseye graphic Les Paul.
“That actually came from me and Oz jamming on the piano in my apartment in North Hollywood”: From Ozzy Osbourne to Papa Roach, Fleetwood Mac to George Harrison, here's 5 career-defining songs you didn’t know were written on the piano
 
 
Taylor Jacob Collier GS Mini: featuring a brightly-coloured rosette graphic designed with the musical polymath, this beginner friendly acoustic has a bold five-string design for his signature DAEAD tuning.
Taylor teams up with Jacob Collier for signature acoustics that declare standard tuning DAEAD – and they’re accessibly priced
 
 
Latest in Guitar Chords
Music Theory
How learning and understanding chord symbols can prove a major benefit for sharing your musical ideas
 
 
Woman playing a guitar chord on an acoustic guitar
Get strumming: The 22 essential beginner, blues and folk guitar chords every guitarist should learn first
 
 
Billie Joe Armstrong
"You can learn hundreds of songs with a few easy chords and some basic rhythm playing chops"
 
 
A man plays acoustic guitar with a capo on the neck
How to use tried and tested chord progressions when crafting your song
 
 
A man plays a chord on an acoustic guitar in a stylish, light home environment. Window behind provides a space for copy
How to understand and use suspended chords
 
 
Julian Lage
“There are so many hurdles guitar players get into that are attributed to knowing 30% of the neck. Just map it out - it takes a week”: Julian Lage unlocks the secret of mastering guitar
 
 
Latest in Tuition
Quantize
How unquantizing your tracks can make them stand out from the AI-dominated crowd
 
 
Ableton Live MIDI tools tutorial
Stuck for ideas? Here's how to create fresh basslines and melodies with Ableton Live 12’s MIDI tools
 
 
Semtek aka DJ Persuasion
7 great house and techno tips from Don’t Be Afraid label boss Semtek (aka DJ Persuasion)
 
 
Creating chord progressions in Ableton Live
Creating chords for electronic music: 3 ways to generate more interesting progressions in Ableton Live 12
 
 
Spotify Wrapped 2025 header
How To: Make the most of Spotify Wrapped
 
 
Paul Gilbert
Four big-name guitarists spill their recording secrets
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...