Also written Bm or Bmin
B minor contains B, D, and F♯. The default voicing uses a barre across the 2nd fret with the pinky stretching to the 4th fret.
The same three notes, with a different one in the bass.
B minor is built from the formula 1, ♭3, 5. The minor 3rd between B and D gives the chord its melancholy character. Raise that D to D♯ and you get B major.
B minor is the vi chord in D major, so it appears in the I–V–vi–IV progression: D–A–Bm–G. It also works as the i chord in B natural minor, fitting rock and folk. Try it with D major and G major.
The default Bmin/D inversion has D in the bass, which softens the chord. For a root-position sound, use the 9th fret voicing with B in the bass.
B minor is played at the 2nd fret as 4 2 2 2: barre your index finger across fret 2 and pinky finger on the G string at fret 4.
Tip — The index barre must hold three strings at the 2nd fret while the pinky reaches the 4th fret on the G string.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 4 | 4 | B (1) |
| 3 (C) | 2 | 1 (barre) | D (♭3) |
| 2 (E) | 2 | 1 (barre) | F♯ (5) |
| 1 (A) | 2 | 1 (barre) | B (1) |
B minor is played at the 5th fret as 7 6 7 5: ring finger on the G string at fret 7, middle finger on the C string at fret 6, pinky finger on the E string at fret 7 and index finger on the A string at fret 5.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 7 | 3 | D (♭3) |
| 3 (C) | 6 | 2 | F♯ (5) |
| 2 (E) | 7 | 4 | B (1) |
| 1 (A) | 5 | 1 | D (♭3) |
B minor is played at the 4th fret as 4 6 7 5: index finger on the G string at fret 4, ring finger on the C string at fret 6, pinky finger on the E string at fret 7 and middle finger on the A string at fret 5.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 4 | 1 | B (1) |
| 3 (C) | 6 | 3 | F♯ (5) |
| 2 (E) | 7 | 4 | B (1) |
| 1 (A) | 5 | 2 | D (♭3) |
B minor is played at the 9th fret as 11 11 10 9: ring finger on the G string at fret 11, pinky finger on the C string at fret 11, middle finger on the E string at fret 10 and index finger on the A string at fret 9.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 11 | 3 | F♯ (5) |
| 3 (C) | 11 | 4 | B (1) |
| 2 (E) | 10 | 2 | D (♭3) |
| 1 (A) | 9 | 1 | F♯ (5) |
B minor is played at the 2nd fret as 4 2 2 5: ring finger on the G string at fret 4, index finger on the C string at fret 2, middle finger on the E string at fret 2 and pinky finger on the A string at fret 5.
| String | Fret | Finger | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (G) | 4 | 3 | B (1) |
| 3 (C) | 2 | 1 | D (♭3) |
| 2 (E) | 2 | 2 | F♯ (5) |
| 1 (A) | 5 | 4 | D (♭3) |
B minor lowers the third from D♯ to D. That one semitone changes the chord from bright to dark.
The barre lets you fret three strings at once with one finger, which is efficient for this chord. It also keeps the shape movable up the neck.
Yes, the Bmin/F♯ inversion at 7-6-7-5 uses separate fingers. That voicing puts F♯ in the bass and sounds higher.