Bb 7sus4 (Bb7sus4)

Also written as A# 7sus4 (A# and Bb are the same key).

Download MIDI
1+4+5+b7
E#3A#1D#2G#5
4 4

Notes in Bb 7sus4

A# (root)D#E#G#

Inversions

Same notes as Bb 7sus4, with a different chord tone as the lowest note. Useful for smoother movement between chords instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Root position

A# in the bass

E#3A#1D#2G#5

1st inversion

D# in the bass (Bb7sus4/D#)

E#2D#1G#4A#5

2nd inversion

E# in the bass (Bb7sus4/E#)

E#1G#2A#3D#5

3rd inversion

G# in the bass (Bb7sus4/G#)

E#5G#1A#2D#3

Open voicings

A close-position chord like Bb 7sus4 can sound cluttered in the middle of the keyboard. Jazz players open it up by dropping one note down an octave, spreading the same notes wider without changing the chord.

Drop 2

E# on the bottom

E#3A#1D#2G#5

Drop 3

D# on the bottom

E#3D#2A#1G#5

Bb 7sus4 is built from A#, D#, E# and G#.

A dominant seventh chord with the third swapped out for a perfect fourth, combining the open sound of a sus4 with the pull of a dominant seventh. Gospel and blues piano lean on it heavily, often as a stepping stone right before the full dominant seventh resolves.

Difficulty: Intermediate. Category: Extended chords. Click any highlighted key on the diagram above, or tab to it and press Enter, to hear that single note. Inversions mark the bass note with a contrasting outline.