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B♭ seven sus4 chord

B♭ seven sus4 Suspended family

Hanging in the air before a big resolution.

Easiest shape1 of 3

Square: the root. In colour: the 4th, which gives the chord its sound.

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

B♭root
E♭4th
F5th
A♭flat 7th

A dominant 7 with its 3rd suspended to the 4th: double the waiting.

Tension: Restless

Hear it in a progression

ii–V–I
The backbone of jazz. In E♭ major.
Capo and transpose
Blues opening
The first four bars of a twelve-bar blues. In B♭ major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in E♭ major, where it is the V7 chord.

E♭maj7
Imaj7. The strongest pull in music: tension resolving home.
Cm7
vi7. The fake-out: you expect home, you get the relative minor.

Sounds close

Fm7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E♭, F and A♭.
D♭
Shares 2 of its notes. Both have F and A♭.
E♭
Shares 2 of its notes. Both have B♭ and E♭.
E♭m
Shares 2 of its notes. Both have B♭ and E♭.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

Keys it lives in