Minor chord · B root
Bm chord
- B1
- D♭3
- F#5
The B minor chord is built from the notes B, D, F#. It turns up 84 times in the 104 songs on this site, including Father and Son and Hey There Delilah.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the Bm chord?
The Bm chord (B minor) is a minor chord built from three notes: B, D, F# — the 1–♭3–5 of the B scale, 3 semitones and 7 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played as a movable shape from fret 2 (x-2-4-4-3-2); shift all fretted notes together to transpose it along the neck. It is rated intermediate. The darker, moodier counterpart of the major chord. Across the 104 song sheets in this site's library, Bm appears 84 times in 17 songs, most often in the keys of D and Bm, and the chord it most often moves to is Bm. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 4 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the Bm chord on guitar?
Fret 2 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the A to high E strings at fret 2, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the D string at fret 4 with your ring finger.
- Press the G string at fret 4 with your pinky finger.
- Press the B string at fret 3 with your middle finger.
- Start your strum on the A string and do not play the low E string at all.
Leave out the lowest fretted note (A string) and practise the remaining strings. The bass changes, and the upper strings may still need a smaller barre; check that the third and other colour tones stay clear. x-x-4-4-3-2
How do you make Bm sound clean?
The mini-barre at the 2nd fret muting the high E is the universal Bm failure. Barre only the strings you need and rotate the wrist slightly outward.
Bm → G → D is the vi–IV–I of D major. If the barre dies, substitute x-x-4-4-3-2 and keep the rhythm going.
In real songs
What songs use the Bm chord?
- chord changes
- 84
- songs
- 17
- common keys
- D · Bm
Across the 104 chord sheets on this site, Bm appears 84 times in 17 songs — most often in the keys of D and Bm.
GBmCAm7
BmBmGA
DDBmBm
All 17 songs that use Bm— key, capo and a link to every sheet
| Song | Artist | Key | Capo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father and Son | Cat Stevens | G | — |
| Hey There Delilah | Plain White T's | D | — |
| Hotel California | Eagles | Bm | — |
| Iris | Goo Goo Dolls | D | — |
| Love Story | Taylor Swift | D | 2 |
| Lyin' Eyes | Eagles | G | — |
| Night Changes | One Direction | Ab | 1 |
| Photograph | Ed Sheeran | E | 2 |
| Proud Mary | Creedence Clearwater Revival | D | — |
| Shallow | Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper | Em | — |
| Teach Your Children | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | D | — |
| The Weight | The Band | A | 2 |
| Thinking Out Loud | Ed Sheeran | D | — |
| What's Up? | 4 Non Blondes | A | — |
| While My Guitar Gently Weeps | The Beatles | Am | — |
| Wicked Game | Chris Isaak | Bm | — |
| Your Song | Elton John | Eb | 1 |
Chord flow
What chord comes after Bm?
Those figures are counted from the 104 chord sheets on this site, so they describe what songwriters actually played rather than what theory says should come next.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
What other ways can you play Bm up the neck?
3 more positions below. Learn one of these well and the rest become optional. The value of a second position is practical: it keeps your fretting hand near where the song is already heading.
Position 2 · Fret 3
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
Position 3 · Fret 7 barre
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
One bar does most of the work. Roll that finger onto its bony edge and pull the elbow slightly in — a barre that buzzes is almost always a position problem, not a strength problem.
Position 4 · Fret 9
No open strings, so this is a movable shape: slide it up or down and the same fingering gives you a different chord name.
Up at fret 9 the frets are close together, so use a lighter touch than you would in the open position — squeezing here pulls the notes sharp.
The theory behind Bm
Bm is spelled B – D – F# — the 1 – ♭3 – 5 of the B scale, which is the root plus 3 semitones, 7 semitones. The darker, moodier counterpart of the major chord.
The flattened third is what makes it minor, so if Bm sounds wrong the third is almost always the note being muted — check the string carrying it before you change anything else.
What key is the Bm chord in?
Bm is the i chord in B minor, the ii chord in A major and the vi chord in D major — the three keys where Bm appears naturally.
the home chord of the minor key
the gentle predominant — often before the V
the relative minor — the major key’s shadow
Bm on other instruments
4 2 2 2
The same chord on four strings in standard tuning. Because the uke is tuned higher, this shape sits at a different place on the neck than its guitar equivalent — useful when arranging for both instruments.
B – D – F# — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
