Guitar · major seventh sharp five
B♭maj7♯5 Chord on Guitar
Bb Major 7♯5 is Bb, D, F#, A — the 1-3-#5-7 pattern of a major seventh sharp five chord. Here is the shape, the audio, and what usually goes wrong.
There is no open Bbmaj7#5 on guitar. The one shape below sits up the neck and is rated advanced.
Start here — Movable Root-5 Shape (1st fret)
Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
The shape above: Movable Root-5 Shape (1st fret).
Listening: each shape above has its own play button, and each one plays the notes that shape actually produces — not a generic triad.
Bbmaj7#5 on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on guitar.
Bbmaj7#5 on Guitar — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play Bbmaj7#5 on guitar?
“Movable Root-5 Shape (1st fret)” — which we rate advanced — is the easiest Bbmaj7#5 shape on guitar. Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones. There is no open Bbmaj7#5 on guitar, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the Bb Major 7♯5 chord?
Bb Major 7♯5 is Bb, D, F#, A — the 1-3-#5-7 interval pattern of a major seventh sharp five chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
What can I play instead of Bbmaj7#5?
The nearest stand-ins on guitar that keep the same root are Bbsus4, Bbsus2, Bb. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play Bbmaj7#5 on other instruments?
Yes. Bbmaj7#5 is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on piano.
Learn the theory behind Bbmaj7#5
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Borrowed Chords and Modal Mixture — Stealing from Parallel Keys
The raised fifth comes from outside the key. This is where chords like it are borrowed from.
7 min read
Functional Harmony: Three Roles, One Engine
That sharpened fifth is a pull toward the next chord — here is the mechanism.
6 min read
Intervals — The Only Music Theory You Actually Need
Two stacked major thirds, and the symmetry that makes it feel homeless.
5 min read