How to Play Bb5 on Piano

The Bb Power Chord chord sounds bare and neutral. It stacks 2 notes: Bb – F.

Root and fifth, no third, so the chord is neither major nor minor. On a piano it is the open shape underneath ostinatos and film cues, and it is the safest thing to hold under a melody whose key you are not sure of.

TagsRockFilm ScoreFirst ChordsBeginner

Notes in Bb5

NoteIntervalRHLH
BbBb4RootR15
FF5Perfect 5th551

How to Play

One hand, 2 notes

Right hand, low note to high: fingers 1-5 on Bb, F. The left hand plays the same shape mirrored, 5-1, usually an octave or two lower.

Where it sits

One note of this chord (Bb) is on black keys, so play it a little further back on the keys than an all-white shape.

Practice Bb5 in the player

Opens a block chord drill for Bb5. More drills, from broken chords to inversions, are further down the page.

Practice Exercises

Play each one to hear it, then open it in the practice player, which shows the notes coming toward you and checks what you play on a MIDI keyboard or the on-screen piano.

1

Block Chord

Press all 2 notes (Bb, F) at the same time. Hold for 4 beats, release, then repeat 8 times. Focus on pressing every key at exactly the same moment with even volume.

Practice block chords
2

Broken Chord (Arpeggio)

Play each note one at a time. Go up, then back down:

Bb → F → F → Bb

Keep a steady rhythm. Once comfortable, try speeding up gradually.

Practice the broken chord
3

Inversions and Slash Chords

The same 2 notes rearranged so a different one sits at the bottom. This is the same idea as a slash chord: is simply Bb5 with in the bass. Learning to move between them is what stops your hand jumping around the keyboard.

InversionWrittenNotesRH
Root positionBb5Bb – F1-5
1st inversionBb5/FF – Bb1-5
Practice the inversions
4

Two-Hand: Bass + Chord

Left hand: play Bb one octave lower as a single bass note. Right hand: play Bb, F. Play the bass note first, then the chord, like a simple accompaniment pattern. Repeat until it feels natural.

Practice bass and chord

Chords You Can Play Instead of Bb5

These share most of their notes with Bb5, so any of them can stand in for it without breaking the harmony. Swapping one in is the quickest way to make a progression you already know sound different.

Ebsus22 shared
Eb – F – Bb
two notes in common
Fsus42 shared
F – Bb – C
two notes in common
F#maj72 shared
F# – A# – C# – E#
two notes in common
Gm72 shared
G – Bb – D – F
two notes in common
Gm7b52 shared
G – Bb – Db – F
two notes in common
Db62 shared
Db – F – Ab – Bb
two notes in common

Keys and Scales for Bb5

Keys Bb5 belongs to

Every note of Bb5 is in each of these keys, and the numeral says the job it does there.

And 6 more, because a chord this plain fits almost anywhere.

Scales to play over it

None of these produce a note that clashes with Bb5. The ones built on Bb itself are the ones to learn, because that rule then works in every key.

Power Chord Chords in Every Key

The same shape moved to another root. Once you can hear what a power chord chord does, the work left is finding it under the hand in the other eleven keys.

C5Db5D5Eb5E5F5F#5G5Ab5A5B5

Other Bb Chords

Every other chord in the library built on Bb: what Bb5 becomes when a note is added, moved or taken away.

Bb6
Bb – D – F – G
Bb7
Bb – D – F – Ab
Bb9
Bb – D – F – Ab – C
Bb11
Bb – F – Ab – C – Eb
Bb13
Bb – D – F – Ab – C – G
Bb6/9
Bb – D – F – G – C
Bb
Bb – D – F
Bbm
Bb – Db – F
Bbmaj7
Bb – D – F – A
Bbm7
Bb – Db – F – Ab
Bbaug
Bb – D – F#
Bbsus2
Bb – C – F
Bbsus4
Bb – Eb – F
Bbm6
Bb – Db – F – G
Bbadd9
Bb – D – F – C
Bbm7b5
Bb – Db – Fb – Ab
BbmMaj7
Bb – Db – F – A
Bbmaj9
Bb – D – F – A – C
Bbm9
Bb – Db – F – Ab – C
Bb7b9
Bb – D – F – Ab – Cb
Bb7#9
Bb – D – F – Ab – C#