How To Play The Bm Chord On Guitar - String Systems

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• Guitar Lessons
  • Lead Guitar Lessons
  • Rhythm Guitar Lessons
  • Free Mini Courses
  • Premium Courses
  • Full Access
  • Private Lessons
  • App
  • YouTube Channel
• My Account
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  • Log in to my Courses
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How to Play the Bm chord on Guitar

String Systems/ Chords & Rhythm Guitar

Navigation:

• The problem with the Bm chord
• How to play a B minor chord
• Moveable form: Bm barre chord
• The easiest Bm chord voicing
• Related lessons & courses

The problem with the Bm chord

Sometimes, in guitar songs that use relatively easy chords, you come across a Bm chord (short for B minor). That creates a challenge for many guitarists. That's because the Bm chord is a bit difficult to execute on guitar, especially for beginners, and even for intermediate players.

We'll begin with a standard version of the B minor chord that is often the recommended choice for new guitarists. You can also scroll below for an easy way to play Bm major, as well as a moveable 6-string barre version.

How to play the Bm chord on the guitar

This is a barre chord that requires you to fret 5 strings with the first finger. This makes the Bm chord a little tricky, but with a little patience, you can master it.

Here are a few tips to help you master this tricky fingering faster:

• In the beginning, form the fingering shape slowly. Speed will come later.
• Decide on the order with which you will place your fingers. For example, you can always start with fingers 3-4, then 2, and then place the 1st finger to form the barre. You could also start with the barre instead.
• Be consistent with the decided order. After you build muscle memory, forming the chord will happen automatically and almost instantly. But the muscle memory building process will take a lot longer if you do this differently every time.
• Place your 1st finger very close to the metal fret. This makes it easier to execute without buzzing. But don't play completely over the fret wire because that will produce a muted sound.

FREE - Fretboard Memorization Toolbox

Bm barre chord - moveable

A note on "bar chords": The traditional spelling is "barre", but many times you will see it spelled as "bar". So a "Bm bar chord" and a "Bm barre chord" are actually the same thing. Don't let that throw you off 😉.

The above Bm chord is already a moveable barre chord. But if you want a barre fingering that covers all 6 strings, try the option below:

To use moveable chords effectively, you need to locate the notes on the fretboard really fast. I highly recommend that you get Fretboard Memorization Toolbox. It's a free mini-course that includes fun drills and musical challenges that will help you master the fretboard very quickly.

FREE - Fretboard Memorization Toolbox

The easiest Bm chord voicing

Guitar players love shortcuts. A shortcut for quickly playing a B minor chord on the guitar, without the trouble of the barre, is to use the minimal voicing in the diagram below.

This produces a thinner chord, but it still sounds great in many songs and it includes all the chord degrees. Plus it's extremely easy to play on the guitar!

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