Guitar tuning

Every chord in Drop Bb tuning

Bb·F·Bb·Eb·G·C

Drop Bb tuning is Bb F Bb Eb G C, low to high. Compared with standard tuning, the 6th string goes from E to Bb (down a tritone); the 5th string goes from A to F (down a major third); the 4th string goes from D to Bb (down a major third); the 3rd string goes from G to Eb (down a major third); the 2nd string goes from B to G (down a major third); the 1st string goes from E to C (down a major third). This chart gives you an easy shape for 108 chords: major, minor, power, dominant 7, minor 7, major 7, sus2, sus4 and add9, on all 12 roots.

Strings run low to high (Bb F Bb Eb G C). A number is the fret, 0 is an open string and x is a string you don't play. A label such as 5fr beside a diagram marks where a shape starts higher up the neck. Tap any chord to open that exact shape in the app, along with every other way to play it.

C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B

C chords in Drop Bb tuning

Db chords in Drop Bb tuning

D chords in Drop Bb tuning

Eb chords in Drop Bb tuning

E chords in Drop Bb tuning

F chords in Drop Bb tuning

Gb chords in Drop Bb tuning

G chords in Drop Bb tuning

Ab chords in Drop Bb tuning

A chords in Drop Bb tuning

Bb chords in Drop Bb tuning

B chords in Drop Bb tuning

Try any of these in the app

Open—Shape shows every voicing of every chord in Drop Bb tuning, and lets you hear them and chain them into a progression.

Questions

Do my standard-tuning chord shapes still work in Drop Bb tuning?
No. All six strings are different from standard tuning, so standard shapes sound different and the chart above gives you the shape for each chord by its actual name.
Why are power chords easier in Drop Bb tuning?
The bottom three strings are tuned Bb, F, Bb, which is a root, a fifth and an octave. Barring them at any one fret gives you a power chord with a single finger, so it is faster to move and to mute than the two-finger power chord in standard tuning.
How were these shapes chosen?
The chord engine searches every way to voice each chord in Drop Bb tuning, then these are the easiest of them: no thumb, at most four fingers, within four frets, a root or fifth in the bass, and no muted string between played ones, preferring low positions and fewer muted strings. Each card says how many other voicings exist, and tapping it opens that exact shape in the app.

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