B Minor Chord on Guitar
Bm B D F♯ 2 shapes Barre chord
Chord diagrams
How to play B Minor on guitar
The B Minor chord (Bm) is made of B, D, F♯ - 1 b3 5. On a guitar in standard tuning the easiest way to play it is the A-shape barre at fret 2 (x24432). Below are 2 shapes in all, from the lowest on the neck to the highest; the same chord sounds brighter the higher you play it.
E-shape barre, fret 7 799777
Strings from the low E (left) to the high E (right). Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. x = do not play the string, o = open string, a bar = one finger across several strings.
Notes
What notes are in B Minor?
The B Minor chord has 3 different notes: B, D, F♯. Root, minor third (3 half steps up), perfect fifth (7): only the third differs from the major chord. A guitar chord rarely has as many strings as notes, so shapes double some of them: the e-shape barre, fret 7 sounds all six strings.
| Note | Interval from the root | Half steps |
|---|---|---|
| B | Root | 0 |
| D | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| F♯ | Perfect 5th | 7 |
Chords that go with it
Chords in the key of B minor
The seven chords built on the B minor scale, with the easiest shape of each. i, iv and v are the backbone; VI, III and VII are the major chords borrowed from the relative major.
A progression to strum
- i - VI - III - VIIBm - G - D - A
Questions
Frequently asked
How do you play Bm on guitar?
The A-shape shape x24432: A string fret 2 (finger 1), D string fret 4 (finger 3), G string fret 4 (finger 4), B string fret 3 (finger 2), high E string fret 2 (finger 1); do not play low E. Your index finger lies flat across fret 2.
What notes are in the B Minor chord?
The B Minor chord (Bm) is made of B, D, F♯. Its formula is 1 b3 5. On the guitar, some of those notes are played twice on different strings.
Can I play Bm without a barre?
There is no common open shape for Bm in standard tuning, so it is played as a movable shape: a-shape barre, fret 2 (x24432) is the lowest on the neck. If a full barre is hard at first, play only the four highest strings of that shape - the root and the third are still there.
Keep playing
Strum Bm, then build a song around it
The guitar on this page is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds the rest of the band in the browser - a sampled piano with chord pads, drum machines, a bass synth and a sequencer - with a 7-day free trial, no card required.