4 Simple B Major Chord Alternatives (Guitar Finger Charts) (2024)

The B major chord on the guitar is a critical chord to learn. You will certainly use this specific chord a number of songs, which means that perfecting it is necessary to be able to play your favorite songs on the guitar.

In this post, I will teach you a few ways to learn the B major chord if you're a new guitar student. You're also going to discover more complicated voicings of the B major guitar chord towards the end of the lesson, including the barre chord version.

Let's start off with some simple music theory about the B major guitar chord.

Chords are made up of 3 notes, meaning that you must play three notes in order to form the B major chord. All these notes are derived from the B major scale.

Which notes make up the B major chord?

The B major guitar chord is made from notes B, D#, and F#.

You'll discover a number of chord charts in this post. The numbers on the dots will indicate which finger on your hand goes where:

  • The 1st finger will be your index finger
  • The 2nd finger will be the middle finger
  • The 3rd finger is your ring finger
  • The 4th finger is your pinky

If you're not used to deciphering chord charts just yet, learn about them first.

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Contents

Learn how to form the B major chord on guitar

Here are several ways to play the B major chord on the guitar.

TIP: a smart way to become familiar with a brand new chord is to use the chord-on/chord-off approach. You basically hold-down the chord, strum the strings, let it go, and repeat the process.

Play each variation loads, and you will learn all of them quickly.

Easiest B major chord for beginner guitarists

This is actually the most simple way to finger the B major chord on the guitar.

Very simple B major chord fingering

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This is the way to play the B major chord:

  • Put your 1st finger onto string 1 at fret 2.
  • Put your ring finger on string 3 at fret 3.
  • And your 4th finger below that on string 2 at fret 3.

Next, pluck each note in the chord, and ensure all of the notes are ringing cleanly.

Great job, you just played the B major chord!

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The sound might seem just a little thin, but that is because you are strumming only a few guitar strings. Bigger sounding voicings of the B major are to follow.

B chord variation

Here is an additional alternative of the B major chord, this is a popular one as well. It is derived from the barre chord shape, but omits the lowest 2 strings.

B chord alternate voicing

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Below are the finger positions to this variation of the B major.

  • Place your index finger on strings 1 and 2 at fret 7.
  • Put the middle finger on string 3 at fret Z.
  • The ring finger goes to string 4 at fret 9.

Now pluck each string in the chord and ensure the chord rings out nicely.

At this point you know 2 different ways to fret the B major, good job!

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More alternatives of the B major guitar chord

There are in fact countless alternatives of the B major, you have now taught yourself the most famous ones.

The following are the chord charts to several other versions of the B major chord.

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Under what circ*mstances will you use which? Well, it depends on several things:

  1. You will normally choose a voicing that is close to where you are playing on the neck already.
  2. The genre may influence where you play the chord. For example, you play lower variations in metal, whereas in funk, you play higher ones.

Beginner video guitar lesson on the B major chord

Because music is an audible art form, here's an exceptional YouTube guitar tutorial on how to form the B major chord on the guitar.

Pay attention to the teacher's fingers and wrist placement.

The B major barre chord

Barre chords are challenging, so if you have just started learning guitar, you should probably to stay with the simpler and easier variations for the time being.

If you have been playing for a few months and would like to learn the right way to form the barre chord variation of the B major, here you go.

We are going to begin with the E shape barre chord voicing of the B major, which has its root note on the 6th string.

B barre chord - E shape finger position

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Here's how to play the B major barre chord rooting on the 6th string:

  • Use your index finger to form a barre on every string at fret 7.
  • Now arrange your other fingers to form an E shape barre chord by placing your 2nd finger onto fret 8 on the G string.
  • Your 3rd finger goes to string A at fret 9.
  • Lastly your 4th finger on string D at fret 9.

And of course, strum the chord and be sure the chord is ringing clearly. You don't want to hear buzzing strings or muted notes.

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Bar chords are tough, you should practice them quite a bit.

Another popular fingering of the B major chord makes use of the A shape barre chord:

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This is how to play the B major barre chord rooting on the A string:

  • First, lay your 1st finger across strings 1-5 at fret 2.
  • Now arrange your other fingers to fret an A shape barre chord by putting your 3rd finger onto fret 4 on the D, G, and B strings.
  • The low E is not played here.

Now pluck each string in the chord and make sure the chord is ringing clearly. As I said, barre chords are tricky. You should not expect to learn them too quickly.

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Practice loads, you will definitely be able to play the B major barre chord soon.

4 Simple B Major Chord Alternatives (Guitar Finger Charts) (2024)

FAQs

What can you play instead of B chord? ›

The best substitute for B is… B! B on the second fret is the A shape, which is the hardest of the general barre shapes. Being so close to the nut, it's also harder to fret on an acoustic guitar, although on electric it should not be a problem.

What is the easiest B chord to play on guitar? ›

Easier B Chord #2 - B "Power Chord"

This version of the B chord is easier and it also has other uses. Put your 1st finger on the 5th string 2nd fret, 3rd finger 4th finger (or pinky) on the 3rd fret. This is called a Power Chord. Again, the 6th string is muted out by just barely touching it with your 1st finger.

What can replace BM on guitar? ›

What Chord Can Be Played Instead of Bm? This would depend on the situation. In most cases, it would be best to play a simpler version of the Bm (either the 3 finger or 4 finger form) if difficulty were the issue. It is possible in some cases to substitute a D major chord in place of the B minor chord.

What is a substitute for the 4 chord? ›

One simple chord substitute for IV is the "ii" chord, a minor chord built on the second scale degree.

Why is there no open B chord? ›

Unlike most open chords beginners tend to learn first, the B major guitar chord is a so-called barre or bar chord. This means that you have to use your index finger to “barre” multiple strings so there are no open strings.

What is the easiest guitar chord in the world? ›

E major chord

Playing an E chord is one of the easiest to learn at first, partly because you don't have to worry about strumming strings that aren't part of the chord. Instead, you get to play all of them. As with all of the chords that we will look at, always make sure that your form is correct.

What is the hardest chord to play on guitar? ›

The six-string F chord is one of the hardest standard chord shape to play on the guitar. When many people try to play the F chord on guitar (and often succeed), it's with far too much struggle and effort than is actually necessary. Even extremely influential guitarists can have a hard time with barre chords.

What is the easiest major chord? ›

One of the easiest chords for beginners to learn is the C major chord. The full version of this open chord requires three fingers, but gives a clear, distinctive sound as it rings out when strummed.

What is B in guitar tab? ›

The "b" means to bend the note for example "7b" (bend the note on the 7th fret upwards)

How do you simplify Bm on guitar? ›

Bm Chord Easy Alternative [Bm7]
  1. Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the A string.
  2. Leave the D string open.
  3. Fret the second fret of the G string with your middle finger.
  4. Leave the B string.
  5. Finally, place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the high E string.
Sep 16, 2019

Why can't i play Bm on guitar? ›

Why is the B minor guitar chord so hard to play? Because a 'barre' is needed to play the chord in its standard form. (“Using a barre” and “barring a string” simply means to use your first finger to press down several strings.)

What chords can be substituted? ›

The Chord Family Substitution Technique treats diatonic chords sharing two common tones as interchangeable. In the C Major Chord Family, A minor (vi) and E minor (iii) can substitute for C Major (I). As the illustration demonstrates, A minor (vi) and E minor (iii) share two common tones with C Major (I).

What chords work with B? ›

The triad chords in this key are B major, C# minor, D# minor, E major, F# major, G# minor, and A# diminished. The four note chords are B major seventh, C# minor seventh, D# minor seventh, E major seventh, F# dominant seventh, G# minor seventh, and A# minor seventh flat five.

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