B♭ minor ninth (B♭m9) chord on piano

Minor ninth chord (a minor seventh plus a major ninth) on B♭: the notes of the B♭m9 chord are B♭ – D♭ – F – A♭ – C. The same chord with a different spelling: A♯ minor ninth (A♯m9).

Full chord: B♭3 – D♭4 – F4 – A♭4 – C5

Chord finder Transposer

What the B♭m9 chord sounds like

A minor ninth is a minor seventh with an added major ninth: soft and warm, typical of R&B and neo-soul.

Notes of the B♭m9 chord

Degree	Note	Interval from the root
1	B♭	root
3	D♭	minor third (3 semitones)
5	F	perfect fifth (7 semitones)
7	A♭	minor seventh (10 semitones)
9	C	major second (2 semitones)

Piano voicings

Chords with five or more notes are rarely played in one hand: the left hand takes the root, the right hand the colour notes. The fifth (and in an eleventh chord the third) is often left out.

Full chord

B♭3 – D♭4 – F4 – A♭4 – C5

Two-hand voicing

B♭2 – D♭4 – A♭4 – C5 – F5

Which keys is it in?

The B♭m9 chord is built from the notes of these keys (for minor keys, both the natural and the harmonic minor are considered):

B♭ minor: i9 (tonic)
F minor: iv9 (subdominant)
D♭ major: vi9
A♭ major: ii9

Similar chords and substitutes

If B♭m9 is too hard, or you want a different colour in the same spot, these chords are worth a try.

Substitutes (by function)

C♯ – relative major: two shared notes
F♯ – the major chord a major third below: two shared notes
B♭m7 – a fuller, softer minor colour

Simpler versions

B♭m7 – all 4 of its notes are in this chord
B♭m – all 3 of its notes are in this chord
B♭sus2 – all 3 of its notes are in this chord

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the B♭m9 chord?

B♭, D♭, F, A♭, C. The root is B♭; the intervals of the other notes from the root: minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, major second.

How do I play the B♭m9 chord on piano?

Play the root with your left hand and the colour notes (third, seventh, ninth) with your right hand – the two-hand voicing above. Stacking all 5 notes in one hand is possible but sounds crowded.

Why do some songbooks write H instead of B?

In German and Central European notation, H is the note B, and B is the note B♭. So a “B” chord in a German or Hungarian songbook is B♭ in English notation, and an “H” chord is B. Always check which notation your chord chart uses.