How to Play a B Dominant 7/6 Flat fifth chord on Guitar

If you would like to expand your chordal vocabulary, the B dominant 7/6 flat fifth chord will be a great addition to your arsenal. This is a sonority common in jazz music. Out of context, chords such as this may sound very dissonant, but when played in the context of a well-written jazz piece, they can be utterly beautiful. In this article, you will learn how to construct and play a B dominant 7/6 flat fifth of your own.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guitar

1. Barre the seventh fret of the guitar with your forefinger. To perform a barre, lay your forefinger down across the seventh fret of every string. The barre will cover the notes B and A, which are the first and flat seventh degrees of the B-major scale.

2. Place your middle finger on the eighth fret of the fifth string (A string). This note is F, the flat fifth degree of the B-major scale. This note is the reason this chord sounds so incredibly dissonant.

3. Place your ring finger on the eighth fret of the third string (G string). This is the note D sharp, the third degree of the B-major scale.

4. Hold down the tenth fret of the second string (B string), using your pinky. This is the note A, the flat seventh degree of the B-major scale.

5. Strum the chord. Using a pick or your fingers, play all of the notes in one sweeping motion. That's it. You now know how to play a B Dominant 7/6 Flat fifth chord on the guitar!

Tips & Warnings

• Listen to jazz recordings. Out of context, this chord and many other jazz chords will sound very dissonant and even bad. Listen to jazz so you can learn to hear how these chords can sound anything but bad when used in the context of a great chord progression and played by a great jazz player.