How to play the B Minor guitar chord - ChordBank

The Bm chord is one of the very few chords that is both very, very common, and very, very difficult for beginners to play. By the time you've finished ... ChordBankSupportScalesChordsChordsScalesSupportCHORDS/BARRECHORDSHowtoplaytheBMinorguitarchord TheBmchordisoneoftheveryfewchordsthatisbothvery,verycommon,andvery,verydifficultforbeginnerstoplay.Bythetimeyou’vefinishedreadingthispage,youwilllearn:whythemostcommonlytaughtformofBminoristoodifficultforbeginnerstwoeasytoplayversionsoftheBmguitarchordthatyoucanlearninlessthanfiveminuteshowtolearnthemoredifficultversionofbminorwhenyou’reready.WhytheBminorchordissoveryhardBminorisoneofthefirstchordsthat,whenyoulookitupinachordbook,usuallythefirstresultthatyouseeisthisdifficultchordwithwhat’scalledabarreshapeinit.Likethis:Ifyou’rejuststartignout,thatdiagramcanbeprettyintimidating.What’stherectanglebetweenthosetwoonesfor?Hereisaphotoofwhatthatchordlookslikeinreallife:Youcanseethatthefirstfingerstartsonthefifth,second-thickeststring,butitislaidflatdownandpresseddownallthewaydowntothefirst,thinneststring.Thisiscalleda“barre”–playingmorethanonestringwiththesamefinger.Chordsthathavethesebarresarecalledbarrechords,andtheytripupjustabouteverybodyduringtheirfirstfewweeksandmonthsofplaying.HowbarrechordsaredifferentMostofthecommonchordsyou’velearned—chordslikeD,chordslikeG,chordslikeA,they’renotsodifficulttoplay.Theyonlyneedthreefingers,theyhavealotofopenstrings. Withtheseeasierchords,eachfingerispushingdownononesinglenote.So,intheD,G,andAchordsyoualreadyknow,eachofyourfingersistouchingasinglestring.Withabarre,though,youaretakingonefinger,andinsteadofputtingyourfingertiponthestring,you’reflatteningoutyourknuckle,andlayingyourfingerstraightacrossmorethanonestringatatime.  Ifthatweren’thardenough,whileyou’redoingthat,youalsohavetoputsomecombinationoftherestofyourfingersontherestofthestrings.Whichisoftentoodifficultathingforabeginnerguitaristtolearn.Easierwaystoplay.Sothere’sthreedifferentversionsofBmthatyoushouldlearn,andtheyallcomefromthedifficultone.Butthey’remadealittlebitlessdifficultone,eachtime.ThebestBminorchordforabsolutebeginnersDon’tworry–thereisaversionofBminorthatyoucanlearnrightnow,thatisaseasytoplayastheotherbeginnerchordsyoulearned.Hereitis:Whyisthiseasier?Let’stakealookatthischord,nexttothediagramofthefullybarredversionwesawbefore:Youshouldseethatwe’rejustplayingthenotesfromthethinnestthreestrings.It’slikewetookthebottomhalfofthestrings,andcutthemrightoff.Andthat’sOK.Justbecauseyouhavesixstrings,doesn’tmeanyouhavetoplaythemall.Didyoueverseeanyoneuseall88keysofapianoatonce?Here’savideoofwhatthatchordlookslike:Afour-fingerversionOnceyougetcomfortablewiththatversion,tryincorporatingyourfourthfingerforafullersound.Youmightnotbeusedtousingyourpinky,anditcanbehardtogetthatfingertodowhatyouwantto,butmostpeoplecanlearnthisversionwithinfivetotenminutes.You’regoingtobasicallyaddanothernoteonthefourthstring,rightonthefourthfret,whereyourthirdfingerwasalready.Butwe’regoingtoflipourthirdandourfourthfingers.Tip:Whentwofingersareplayingonthesamefret,thethickerfingerusuallygoesonthethickerstring.Hereisthisversion,nexttotheothertwowe’velookedatalready:Asyoucansee,we’regettingclosertothebarredversion–justonestringdifferent!Here’swhatitlookslikeonyourfretboard:Thisversionshouldlastyouawhile—goaheadandstartplayingthisversioninyoursongs,beginlearningotherchords,andcomebacktolearnthebarreversionlater.Justmakesureyouonlystrumthehighestfourstrings!BarredversionWhenyou’reready,it’stimetostarttolearnhowtoactuallymakethebarre.Here’sthediagram,onemoretime:Firsttakeyourfirstfinger,andputthetiponthefifthstring,justbehindthesecondfret.Then,flattenoutyourknuckle.Nowthatthebarreisinplace,we’reactuallygoingtoputtherestofourfingersinthesameplacesthatwedidfortheeasyversion.Theonlydifferenceisthat,insteadoffrettingjustthefirstfretlikeoureasyversionwas,ourfirstfingerisnowfrettingallthewayacrossthehighestfivestrings.Playthetopfivestrings.Congratulationsonwhatmaybeyourveryfirstbarrechord.Thiscangetalittlebuzzy,butdon’tgiveup.Practicemakesperfect,here.And,whateveryoudo,don’tstopplayingguitarbecauseyou’rehavingtroublewiththebarre.Justplaytheeasierversionuntilyou’rereadytomovetothisone.LessonsDobarrechordsscareyou?Theydon’thaveto.WehaveanexcellentvideoseriesbyAnnaFreitasthatwilldemystifyBarreChordsonceandforall.You’lllearntoplaythemostimportantbarrechordshapes,withtipsforfindingyourwayupanddownthefretboard,changingchords,andgettingridofthatawfulfretbuzzthatplaguesbeginningplayers. BarreChords »Lesson PracticeSmarterHerearesomedirectlinkstoChordBank’spracticedrillsandgamesforbeginnerslearningtheBmchord.ligthbulbTheselinksopendirectlyinChordBankonyouriPhoneoriPad.Tolearnchords,you’vegottoplaythem,getthemstuckinyourmuscle-memory. SmartFlashcards  Learningtochangecleanlybetweenchordsasyoulearnissuchanimportantsteponyourjourneyfromsomeonewhohasaguitar,tosomeonewhoplaystheguitar.Theseflashcardswillhelpyoudojustthat.Sameshape:AmandBmAgoodwaytogetafeelfortheBmchordistoplayitalongsidetheAmchordthatit’srelatedto.AmBm Thiswillhelpyoustarttothinkofthesebarrechordshapesaswhattheyare:movableversionsofthechordsyoualreadyknow. PracticeAmandBm »SmartFlashcards Nextsteps:Bm,D,G,ATrymixingBmwithotherchordscommonlyfoundalongsideit:theD,Gmajor,andAchords.BmDGA PracticeBm,D,G,andA »SmartFlashcards Games  TryplayingChordPOP!orBlackjackwhiletakingyourfingersonandoffthestrings.ChordBankwilllistentoyouriPhone’smicrophone,andfiredarts,placebets,ordealcardsasyouplay.ChordPOP!:Bm »Playchordstofiredartsandpopballoons!Blackjack:Bm,A,andG »Playchordstodealcardsandplacebets!