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.
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
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!
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
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!
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.
Under what circumstances will you use which? Well, it depends on several things:
- You will normally choose a voicing that is close to where you are playing on the neck already.
- 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
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.
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:
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.
Practice loads, you will definitely be able to play the B major barre chord soon.
