B Minor Chord Easy Way to Play
The Bm chord is tricky, especially for beginners. It's one of the most difficult beginner guitar chords to play, which is why I'm going to break it down for you.
Now, there are no short-cuts, silver-bullet solutions, or tricks to getting this chord under your fingers. However, I'll show you how I learned the Bm chord.
This lesson includes…
- How to play the Bm chord efficiently.
- The easiest Bm chord to get under your fingers.
- An easy exercise to help you remember the Bm chord.
If you're stuck in a practice rut, having trouble getting better, or simply need more direction for your guitar practice, I have something for you.
It's my guitar reboot workshop. This 90-minute, free workshop is dedicated to giving you the framework you need to have fun while practicing acoustic guitar.
So, if you're tired of making slow, unsteady progress on guitar, you would love to see you at my workshop. Otherwise, keep scrolling to learn how to play the Bm chord!
How to Play the Bm Chord
The Bm chord, also written as B minor, stumps many of my students. The hardest part of the Bm chord is making the "barre" across the fingerboard.
"But Tony, what the heck is a barre?"
A barre is where you use your index finger to fret several strings on your guitar. Think of your first finger like a capo: it'll cross all of strings while you use other fingers to form the rest of the chord.
(If the image above is confusing for you, check out my lesson on how to read chord diagrams here. I promise it'll make chord diagrams make more sense!)
So, as we look at the Bm chord, you'll notice that all of your fretting fingers are needed.
- Start by barring your first finger across the A, D, G, B, and E strings. Don't worry about the low E string — you'll mute it for the Bm chord.
- Place your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the B string.
- Then, place your ring finger on the 4th fret of the D string.
- Finally, use your pinky finger to fret the 4th fret of the G string.
Once your fingers are in the right position, go ahead and strum the Bm chord. If it sounds muddy, you notice some muted notes, make sure your fingers have a nice arch in them.
Having arch in your fingers (ie. making sure the joints of your fingers are bending) allows them you to play on the tips of your fingers. When you play with the tips of your fingers, your fingers are less likely to accidentally mute another string.
Additionally, make sure your fingers are fretting just behind the fret — not on top, and not in the middle of two frets.
To play this chord, it takes a lot of finger strength. As you learn this chord, feel free to take breaks as needed.
Remember, learning the guitar is a journey, not a race. Take your time getting used to barring the strings, and don't hurt yourself trying to learn the chord in one day!
Many beginning guitar players forget to manage their tension as the are playing. Try to relax as much as possible, and if you need more pointers, check out my tension-management lesson here.
Bm Chord Exercise [Memorize It!]
Before I show you alternative fingerings for the Bm chord, I want you to try this super simple exercise called the quick draw exercise.
B minor is a difficult chord to get under your fingers, and it's even harder to remember. That's why the quick draw exercise is super helpful.
To start the quick draw exercise, you'll need your guitar and, ideally, a stopwatch or clock (I always use the one on my phone).
- Start with your fretting hand on your thigh.
- Make sure you can see the seconds-hand of the clock or you have a stopwatch running.
- In the span of five seconds, you're going to form the Bm chord with your fretting hand.
- Make sure to play the chord once your five seconds are up!
You don't need to perform the quick draw exercise every five seconds. Instead, take a break and let a few seconds pass by before you do the quickdraw exercise again.
This exercise is great for developing the muscle memory and recall needed to play any chord.
How to Play the Bm Chord Without Barring
Alright, I know I said there weren't any tricks to playing the Bm chord, but this one just might be!
If you're struggling with the barring aspect of the Bm chord, you can play the chord without having to barre across the strings.
As you can see in the chord diagram, this version of the Bm chord already seems easier — because you don't have to barre your index finger across five strings!
- Start by placing your index finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string.
- Place your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the B string.
- Your ring finger frets the 4th fret of the D string.
- Finally, use your pinky finger to fret the 4th fret of the G string.
This Bm chord is perfect if you're struggling to barre across the 2nd fret.
While this version isn't a true Bm chord (it has the second scale degree in it), it'll work if you're unable to barre across frets.
Many students still think this version of the Bm chord is too difficult. Fortunately, there's another way that you can play it.
Easiest Bm Chord [Bm7]
I'm kind of cheating on this one because it's technically not a true Bm chord. Rather, the easiest Bm chord is a variation of Bm: Bm7.
I won't get into the specifics of this chord, but you'll notice it has a different tonal quality than the first Bm chord I showed you. That's because you're going to add the 7th scale degree in this chord.
To play this variation of the Bm chord, you'll only need to use three fingers.
- Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the A string.
- Leave the D string open.
- Fret the second fret of the G string with your middle finger.
- Leave the B string open.
- Finally, place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string.
When you strum this version of the Bm chord, make sure you're…
- Maintaining the arch in your fingers.
- Playing with the tips of your fingers.
This Bm7 is going to sound different from the other chords I showed you precisely because it has the minor-7th scale degree in the chord.
You can sub this chord for a normal Bm chord, but know that it might change the tonal quality of the song you're trying to play.
Which Version Should YOU Learn?
I'm going to be up-front and honest with you: you should learn the Bm chord with the barre across the second fret.
I know it's a challenging chord, but I believe in you. I'm not going to tell you that the Bm chord is "simply beyond the ability of most beginner guitarists."
Practice the Bm Chord in Little Chunks
The reality is that playing the Bm chord takes practice. Playing the guitar, in general, takes practice. You might not get in a day or a week or a couple of weeks —and that's totally okay. I'd rather see you work on the Bm chord for 10 minutes every day than strain your hand trying to perfect it in one hour.
I'm serious about this 10 minutes a day business (if you want to learn why 10 minutes a day is SO important, check out this article here).
Even if you only want to practice the Bm chord for three minutes (which can feel like a long time, trust me), use those other seven minutes to play some easier chords or an easy song!
I don't want you to feel defeated by not being able to play the Bm chord right away. Instead, make sure you consistently practice it and use the quick draw exercise to help you remember it.
Who knows, maybe after a couple of weeks of practicing in small chunks every day, you'll be playing the Bm chord like it's nobody's business!
Learning How to Play the Guitar the Right Way
Earlier, I shared with you my Ultimate Guide to Learning Guitar. This is a completely free course filled with tons of video lessons to give you the basics on how to play guitar.
While I don't cover the Bm chord in the Ultimate Guide, I cover how to play chords the right way, how to play your first solo, and so much more. You can download the course guide and tabs by clicking here.
If you want even more guidance and support in your guitar journey, I want to share my comprehensive lesson platform called Tony's Acoustic Challenge.
Filled with daily exercises, lessons on a variety of topics (including those minor-7 chords), and a robust community of thousands of guitar players, Tony's Acoustic Challenge is just the first step in getting better at acoustic guitar.
If you're ready to try to request an invite, click here to sign-up and learn how Tony's Acoustic Challenge has helped thousands of guitar players in their musical journeys.
Source: https://acousticlife.tv/bm-chord/
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