Tools / Chords / B♭ minor

B♭ minor chord on guitar (B♭m)

Also written B♭m or B♭min

B♭ minor contains B♭, D♭, and F, built from 1, ♭3, 5. The 1st fret barre shape is a common hurdle for players moving beyond open chords.

1st fret×-1-3-3-2-1

Positions on the neck1 of 5

How it’s built

B♭1Root

D♭♭3Minor 3rd

F5Perfect 5th

Formula 1, ♭3, 5

Positions on the neck1 of 5

Inversions

The same three notes, with a different one in the bass.

Root positionB♭–D♭–FB♭mBass B♭

First inversionD♭–F–B♭B♭m/D♭Bass D♭

Second inversionF–B♭–D♭B♭m/FBass F

Why it sounds like that

B♭ minor is built from the root B♭, a minor third D♭, and a perfect fifth F. The ♭3 interval is what separates it from B♭ major, which raises that note to D. This single semitone change turns the chord from bright to dark.

What goes wrong with B♭ minor?

Letting the index barre lift off the high E string, which mutes the top note.
Strumming the low E string, which is not a chord tone and sounds dissonant.
Allowing the ring and pinky fingers to collapse and mute the adjacent strings.

When to use it

B♭ minor suits jazz, R&B, and any progression that needs a dark, brooding color. Pair it with C♯ major and F♯ major for the I–vi–IV–V loop.

Changing to and from B♭ minor

Slide the shape up one fret to the 2nd fret to play B minor.
Move to F minor by shifting the barre to the 1st fret and changing the fretted notes to 3-3-1-1-1.

Which voicing to use

The 1st fret barre shape gives the root B♭ in the bass and is the standard voicing. The 6th fret barre repeats the same shape an octave higher, while the B♭min/D♭ inversion puts D♭ in the bass for a less stable sound.

How do you play a B♭ minor chord on guitar?

1st fret

Barre● On the diagram

B♭ minor is played at the 1st fret as × 1 3 3 2 1: barre your index finger across fret 1, ring finger on the D string at fret 3, pinky finger on the G string at fret 3 and middle finger on the B string at fret 2. The low E string stays muted.

Tip — The hardest part is holding the index barre across the A and high E strings while the middle, ring, and pinky fingers fret three separate notes.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	muted	—	—
5 (A)	1	1 (barre)	B♭ (1)
4 (D)	3	3	F (5)
3 (G)	3	4	B♭ (1)
2 (B)	2	2	D♭ (♭3)
1 (e)	1	1 (barre)	F (5)

6th fret

Barre

B♭ minor is played at the 6th fret as 6 8 8 6 6 6: barre your index finger across fret 6, ring finger on the A string at fret 8 and pinky finger on the D string at fret 8.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	6	1 (barre)	B♭ (1)
5 (A)	8	3	F (5)
4 (D)	8	4	B♭ (1)
3 (G)	6	1 (barre)	D♭ (♭3)
2 (B)	6	1 (barre)	F (5)
1 (e)	6	1 (barre)	B♭ (1)

13th fret

Barre

B♭ minor is played at the 13th fret as × 13 15 15 14 13: barre your index finger across fret 13, ring finger on the D string at fret 15, pinky finger on the G string at fret 15 and middle finger on the B string at fret 14. The low E string stays muted.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	muted	—	—
5 (A)	13	1 (barre)	B♭ (1)
4 (D)	15	3	F (5)
3 (G)	15	4	B♭ (1)
2 (B)	14	2	D♭ (♭3)
1 (e)	13	1 (barre)	F (5)

B♭min/D♭ inversion · fret 2

Intermediate

B♭ minor is played at the 2nd fret as × 4 3 3 2 ×: pinky finger on the A string at fret 4, middle finger on the D string at fret 3, ring finger on the G string at fret 3 and index finger on the B string at fret 2. The low E and high e strings stay muted.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	muted	—	—
5 (A)	4	4	D♭ (♭3)
4 (D)	3	2	F (5)
3 (G)	3	3	B♭ (1)
2 (B)	2	1	D♭ (♭3)
1 (e)	muted	—	—

B♭min/D♭ inversion · fret 8

Intermediate

B♭ minor is played at the 8th fret as 9 8 8 10 × ×: ring finger on the low E string at fret 9, index finger on the A string at fret 8, middle finger on the D string at fret 8 and pinky finger on the G string at fret 10. The B and high e strings stay muted.

String-by-string breakdown

String	Fret	Finger	Note
6 (E)	9	3	D♭ (♭3)
5 (A)	8	1	F (5)
4 (D)	8	2	B♭ (1)
3 (G)	10	4	F (5)
2 (B)	muted	—	—
1 (e)	muted	—	—

Common questions

How is B♭ minor written?

B♭ minor is written B♭m, B♭min, B♭−, or B♭mi. The ASCII root is Bb. It is also spelled A♯ in enharmonic notation for the same sounding root.

What is the difference between B♭ minor and B♭ major?

B♭ minor lowers the third from D to D♭. That single note changes the chord from major to minor and gives it a sadder quality.

Why is the low E string muted in the B♭ minor shape?

The low E is not a chord tone, so muting it prevents a dissonant note from ringing. It also keeps the bass note as B♭.

Can B♭ minor be played without a barre?

Yes, the B♭min/D♭ inversion at the 4th fret uses no barre. But it puts D♭ in the bass and is less common as a root-position chord.

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

muted

—

5 (A)

1 (barre)

B♭ (1)

4 (D)

F (5)

3 (G)

B♭ (1)

2 (B)

D♭ (♭3)

1 (e)

1 (barre)

F (5)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

1 (barre)

B♭ (1)

5 (A)

F (5)

4 (D)

B♭ (1)

3 (G)

1 (barre)

D♭ (♭3)

2 (B)

1 (barre)

F (5)

1 (e)

1 (barre)

B♭ (1)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

muted

—

5 (A)

1 (barre)

B♭ (1)

4 (D)

F (5)

3 (G)

B♭ (1)

2 (B)

D♭ (♭3)

1 (e)

1 (barre)

F (5)

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

muted

—

5 (A)

D♭ (♭3)

4 (D)

F (5)

3 (G)

B♭ (1)

2 (B)

D♭ (♭3)

1 (e)

muted

—

String

Fret

Finger

Note

6 (E)

D♭ (♭3)

5 (A)

F (5)

4 (D)

B♭ (1)

3 (G)

F (5)

2 (B)

muted

—

1 (e)

muted

—