Ahhh the dreaded BM (B Minor) chord.... you either hate it or love it. There's no in between.
That's why we're going to show you some shortcuts to learning the B Minor!
YOU will learn the B minor chord in 10 minutes!
In this FREE Lesson we'll cover:
- Most common questions about the BM chord
- Why B minor chord is important
- Most advanced Bm Chords
- How to learn the BM chord correctly
- Alternatives to the BM Chord
- List of Songs that include the BM Chord
All Your Favorite Songs Probably Include A BM Chord
When I first started playing the guitar I initially struggled trying to play the B minor chord. What was my issue?
Well as a novice I couldn’t grasp the barre chord concept.
No matter how many times I would play the chord, it would always come out sounding bad.
My guess is that's why you're here too. You want to learn how to play the BM chord.
Not to worry my friend, we will show a short cut to quickly learn the ever mysterious BM chord.
What Is the BM Chord?
B Minor is in the key of G and D Major.
These are two of the most common keys on the guitar.
Many of your favorite songs probably use a Bm chord without you knowing it.
I personally use the Bm chord in many of the guitar songs I write.
I believe it is one of the best sounding chords and it goes well with many chord progressions (hence why it's important to learn!)
Easier Alternative the BM Chord?
The easiest alternative the BM chord is to learn the B minor.
Why should you learn B minor?
For starters, it is a good idea to expand your chord vocabulary. You want to learn how to play as many chords as possible.
This will open up your ability to learn many songs and be able to write unique chord progressions.
If you haven't already; you should learn to read guitar chords!
Once you learn how to play the tricky guitar chords, the open chords you once struggled with will seem trivial.
Over time learning new chords will help you progress as a guitar player.
If you are a beginner and cannot grasp the concept of barre chords,
They are all alternatives for the Bm barre chord.
This Bm chord spans across the 2nd,
This chord can still be tough though for some people who just recently picked up a guitar as it requires the use of 4 fingers across three frets.
If you cannot play this, try the next chord shape.
The next alternative (the one I personally think is the easiest) is the B minor open chord. While the chord requires a player to use the 2nd,3 rd and 4th frets, it very easy to remember and play.
The only difference is that you don’t have a note to hold down on the D string. This frees up your pinkie finger.
So another alternative for the standard B minor chord is the B minor 7.
This is quite easy as all the notes are on the second fret.
I still believe though that the chord above is easier and sounds closer to the Bm barre chord than the chord below.
More Advanced Bm chords on the guitar!
Now after you have a few of the b minor chords nailed, you're ready to move on.
Here are some more advanced Bm Chords on the guitar that you can begin to practice.
If you are a beginner I do encourage you to check these out, however, please learn the first B minor guitar chords before trying to learn these as they are trickier.
The 7th fret barre chord is not necessarily more difficult than the first barre chord, but it is less practical. This chord does not mix well with open chords.
You still must know it though as it is used in a lot of songs.
Tip: This chord shape on the first fret would be considered a F minor chord.
This B minor chord is a bit trickier than the other chords posted, but it definitely isn’t the hardest chord you will come across.
This chord is classified as a chord inversion.
From Wikipedia, “A chord's inversion describes the relationship of its bass to the other tones in the chord.
For instance, a C major triad contains the tones C,
While most inverted chords don’t sound that great strummed and instead are picked, this actually does sound nice strummed. It is definitely worth adding to your repertoire of chords.
Once you master the ability to play the B minor chord, it will open the door to playing many more songs.
It will help you be more confident as a guitar player and enhance your skills in general.
Remember, patience, persistence and dedicationneeded to be to develop your guitar skills. is
We recommend starting with these types of easier songs that include a little bit of finger work to build up your fingerstyle skills.
Here is a short video that may help you further figure out that BM chord.
I have to avoid strumming certain strings? That sounds really difficult!
Did you watch the video above?
Don’t worry about skipping the 6th string. It takes time to be able to master strum a chord properly.
After you learn the Bm guitar chord you will be able to take on other challenges such as fingerpicking songs.
In the beginning you will find it very hard to do. It’s ok and it is normal.
Do not line up your pick in the right place before strumming the chord. It is a bad habit that you should avoid.
It is more important to just practice strumming.
Don’t wait too long, take action right away.
The only way to improve is through repetition. If you try getting everything perfect before you play the chord, you will fail; it will take you forever to learn.
‘I’d rather just learn the Bm guitar chord the correct way from the beginning’
A lot of new guitarists often state this.
While I admire your determination, this is simply beyond the scope of a beginner guitarist.
Trying something above your level will stunt your progress.
It is better to just practice now and correct later. As a beginner, it is far more important to get comfortable holding and strumming the guitar.
As you progress and improve your guitar skills you can correct your mistakes.
Are there any other types of Bm guitar chords?
Yes, there is lots of B minor guitar chords out there, however, we will not be discussing them on this post.
Most of the other Bm chords are too advanced for novice guitarists.
If you are still having trouble with the B minor chords, check out Jamplay, they have lots of guitar tutorials that can help you out.
With practice, persistence and dedication you can and will be able to play the Bm chord.
Common Bm guitar chord progressions
Here are just a few of the most common Bm chord progressions.
It's important to realize how the chord plays into the entire song so you know why it really has to be a chord you can bang out!
D - Bm - G - A
D - G - Bm - A
D - A - Bm - G
Bm - Em - A
Bm - Em - F#m
C#m7b5 - F#m - Bm
List of songs that require the B minor chord
Here's a list of some all too popular songs that require mastery of the B minor.
If you want to impress your family and friends by playing a radio hit.... yeah you're gonna have to know the BM Chord well.....
| Song Title | Band |
|---|---|
| A Hard Day's Night | The Beatles |
| A Man and A Woman | U2 |
| All Because of You | U2 |
| All I Want Is You | U2 |
| Back 2 Good | Matchbox 20 |
| Boys Don’t Cry | The Cure |
| Breathe | Anna Nalick |
| Dandelion | Audioslave |
| Easy | The Commodores/Faith No More |
| Fake Plastic Trees | Radiohead |
| Feed the Birds | Julie Andrews |
| Heaven Beside You | Alice in Chains |
| Hotel California | The Eagles |
| I Started a Joke | The Bee Gees |
| In A Little While | U2 |
| In Your Eyes | Jeffrey Gaines |
| Just Like Heaven | The Cure |
| Karma Police | Radiohead |
| No Excuses | Alice in Chains |
| Rain King | Counting Crows |
| Selling The Drama | Live |
| Silhouettes | Cliff Richard |
| Story of A Girl | Nine Days |
| Strong Enough | Sheryl Crow |
| Suddenly I See | KT Tunstall |
| Suffragette City | David Bowie |
| Sunday Bloody Sunday | U2 |
| The Scientist | Coldplay |
| Van Diemen's Land | U2 |
| Ziggy Stardust | David Bowie |
Easy Bm Chord Example Song, Summer of 69'.
Was it easier for you to pick up on the B minor chord in the Summer of 69' acoustic cover above?
Funny how it's easier to hear it when you know what to listen for.
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Shortcut To Learning the BM Chord
There are many free guitar lessons online but they all lack continuity, quality production, and don't show you how to play your favorite songs which specifically incorporate the B Minor chord.
The Problem with free guitar lessons are:
- They are unorganized (Youtube)
- Free Lessons Don't Teach you your favorite songs
- Lack of camera angles during the lesson to see both hands
- You'll spend 5x as much time learning the same chord
- Lack of progression from mastering one chord to incorporating it into various songs and song writing
The Shortcut is Learning Your Favorite Song from A Famous Guitarist
When I first wanted to master the BM chord I turned to Jamplay.
They have a free 7 day trial to learn from the world's top guitarists.
After I signed up it literally took me a few hours to get a grasp on a chord that I had struggled to learn for weeks using Youtube.
The Advantages of using Jamplay are:
- World's top guitarists as instructors (learn from you favorite guitarist)
- Free for 7 days, then cancel if you want
- Multiple camera angles to see both hands on the guitar (this was a big one for me)
- Learn your favorite songs in particular not just the one teacher likes
- Progress into more challenging songs rather than being stuck after learning 1 song
- Learn about 5x faster! Time is money to me!
Don’t sit back and procrastinate learning guitar, learn from the best at no risk.
Here's a great little video showing off what some of the Jamplay lessons are like.
Note* When you visit Jamplay you'll see you can choose which artist or celebrity guitar play you want to learn more.
JamPlay is one of the best resources on the Internet for guitarists to learn the instrument.
There are endless video lessons of songs and techniques from the best players around.
It is a virtual community filmed and recorded with the most professional quality and right now All Axess has a partnership for a free trial.
Head on over to Jamplay.com to peruse their materials if this is something you think you would like.
Additional Resources For The Guitarist
A question we get often is where is the best place to buy guitar equipment online.
Our answer, we recommend Guitar Center.
They have the best prices on all the main brands.
Whether you are looking for an electric, acoustic or bass guitar they have you covered.
Their staff is friendly and are more than capable of helping you out for all your needs!
Or if you prefer our recommendations, our guitarists wrote the original and most updated online guide on choosing the best electric guitar as a beginner!
Best of luck learning this new chord. Rock on.
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