B minor (Bm)

The A minor–shape barre at the 2nd fret: B minor is the most common minor chord after the open ones, and a must as soon as you play in D or G.

There’s no open shape: it’s played as a barre chord, starting at the 2nd fret. It’s the home chord of the key of B minor; in major keys, you’ll find it in D major, A major and G major.

Notes:: B, D, F♯.
Formula:: 1, ♭3, 5.
Difficulty:: Intermediate.
Strings played:: 5 (from the A string).

Chord diagram

e|--2--|
B|--3--|
G|--4--|
D|--4--|
A|--2--|
E|--x--|

Other positions

e|--7--|
B|--7--|
G|--7--|
D|--9--|
A|--9--|
E|--7--|

Capo tip: put the capo at the 2nd fret and play the A minor shape: you hear B minor, with no barre.The capo

Common mistakes

High E not ringing? Your index isn’t pressing hard enough at the tip. Slide it up a little so the base of your finger fully covers the string.

Sounds muddy? You’re strumming the low E: five strings only, starting from the A string.

Variations

Bm7: an open shape, no barre, with a softer sound.

e|--2--|
B|--0--|
G|--2--|
D|--0--|
A|--2--|
E|--x--|

Heard in

Hotel California (Eagles) opens on B minor. In D major, B minor is the vi chord: D, Bm, G, A.

Often played with

The chords in its key, the ones you hear most often around B minor.

e|--0--|
B|--0--|
G|--0--|
D|--2--|
A|--2--|
E|--0--|

E minoriv

e|--2--|
B|--2--|
G|--2--|
D|--4--|
A|--4--|
E|--2--|

F♯ minorv

e|--3--|
B|--0--|
G|--0--|
D|--0--|
A|--2--|
E|--3--|

G major♭VI

e|--0--|
B|--2--|
G|--2--|
D|--2--|
A|--0--|
E|--x--|

A major♭VII