Shape characteristics
Barre chord
Your first finger flattens across multiple strings at the same fret. Movable up and down the neck to any key without changing the shape.
Mid-neck · fret 4-6
Balanced tone, with neither the ringing openness of first position nor the bright snap of the upper register. Common choice for rhythm work when you want a fuller, more compact sound.
Full six-string voicing
All six strings ring, giving you the biggest, most resonant version of this chord, ideal for strumming and solo acoustic contexts.
Bass: B♭ · Top: B♭
The 7th (or equivalent upper tone) is in the bass, producing a suspended, leading quality that naturally wants to resolve downward.
Shape 645550 is the closest alternative voicing. Try both to see which fits better.
How to play this shape
- 1 Place the 1st finger on the 4th fret of the 5th string
- 2 Place the 2nd finger on the 5th fret of the 2nd string, 3rd string, and 4th string in barre position
- 3 Place the 3rd finger on the 6th fret of the 6th string
- 4 Place the 4th finger on the 6th fret of the 1st string
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "645556" mean?
The sequence 645556 is a highly compact guitar chord notation. It represents the fret played on each of the 6 strings, reading left-to-right from the thickest (lowest pitch) string to the thinnest (highest pitch) string: E, A, D, G, B, e.
- x means the string is muted or skipped entirely.
- 0 means the string is played "open" (without pressing over a fret).
- 1-9 represent standard fret numbers 1 to 9.
- a, b, c... represent frets 10, 11, 12, and higher (where a=10, b=11, c=12).
Can I play this C7♭9/B♭ shape anywhere else?
Yes! This specific layout is just one way to voice a C7♭9/B♭ chord. You can find all other variations in our chord shape library for C7♭9/B♭. Most guitarists choose different shapes based on whether they want a "brighter" or "deeper" sound, or which chord they are transitioning from.
Other shapes
Showing 8 of 11 playable shapes