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For example, the Bb minor 7 chord can be produced by lowering the 3rd and 7th of the Bb Major 7 chord.
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It can also be used as a starting point, when figuring out other chords that have the same root note. The Major 7 chord in general is considered a kind of default chord, as it contains no altered notes of the Major scale (1, 3, 5, 7). The most common way to play the Bb Major 7 chord is with the root note on the 1st fret of the 5th string (second shape in the image below). It is essentially a B flat Major chord, with the 7th note of the Major scale added. It is produced by taking the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the Bb Major scale. The B flat Major 7 chord (also written as Bb Maj 7) contains the notes Bb, D, F and A.
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