Welcome to How to Play a B Minor Chord - from seasoned professionals to guitar newbies, all guitar players can benefit from a review of basic chords and techniques. But, minor chords are especially helpful if you've already learned the "basic" major chords (like E Major, used in all kinds of musical styles)http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-play-an-e-major-chord and want to learn how to play a whole new class of chords which will give your songs a new sound.

In this How-To, Step 1 explores some basic information and terms that you'll need to know before you do anything else; basically, we'll go over just what a chord is, how to recognize the different strings, and some useful vocabulary to boot. In Step 2, we'll see how to put the guitar into the "Standard" Tuning, for which you might want to use one of the various online guitar tuner websites.http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/ Then, in Step 3, we'll walk through the actual hand positions and strings that need to be hit in order to play a B Minor chord on the guitar.

For this How-To, you'll (pretty obviously) need a guitar of some kind, acoustic or electric. You might also want to get yourself a pick to strum your guitar, but if you're comfortable using your fingers, that's alright too - the main thing is to be able to hit the strings you'll be required to hit, since not every chord requires all six strings to sound at the same time. And, it's recommended that you have a guitar tuner, or guitar tuner websitehttp://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/ handy before you begin.

In the plainest terms, a chord is three or more notes played at the same time on some instrument.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chord The B Minor chord is no different than the E Major, in this respect, since each meet that criteria for being a chord. However, the B Minor belongs to a class of chords - the "minors" - which tend to have a sad, almost depressing sound to them.

The three notes involved in a B Minor guitar chord are B, D, and F Sharp.http://www.list-of-chords.com/B-minor As we'll see later, the F Sharp note is repeated in the four notes of the B Minor chord - and potentially the B is as well - but this doesn't change the fact that the only notes being played are B, D, and F Sharp.

Now, the layout of the guitar strings in a standard tuning allows these notes to be played relatively easily at the same time; the finger positions on the frets are very conducive to playing a B Minor chord. But, you might be asking just what a fret is - and with good reason! You might be totally new to guitars, or you might just have missed this idea, but a "fret" can refer to either the individual pieces of metal that lie horizontally across the neck of the guitar, or else the gaps that occur in between any two given pieces of metal. For this How-To, we'll be using this second definition of "fret."

In order to play the B Minor chord in the easiest way possible, it's essential that you have your guitar tuned to what's called the "standard" tuning. This, simply, means that each string - when played open - will sound the following notes (starting with the thickest string): E, A, D, G, B, E. There will be a one octave jump from the first to the last string. You'll need to get a tuner or else have access to some pitches for reference, which is why online guitar tuners can be so beneficial; most of them have the proper pitches prerecorded, so you can adjust your strings to match the sound from the computer.http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/

To change the sound of your strings, you'll need to twist the tuning pegs located at the head of your guitar (there should be six of them!) - but be careful, since tweaking the tension of the strings (which is how the pitch changes) can cause strings to snap or break with over-tightening! You definitely don't want to get hit by a flying metal guitar string, so be careful! One of the best ways to prevent this from occuring is to make sure that your strings are in good condition, i.e. free from rust or scratches, before you start adjusting them. Good strings = good sound, but also safety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD8gRtG63N4&annotation_id=annotation_535591&feature=iv

In this YouTube video, KrisTina of The Paper Dolls and Tyler show you how to play a B Minor chord; they helpfully discuss the correct finger positions and the right strings to hit when playing this "sad, sad" chord. However, they also discuss variations on the chord (i.e. adding an additional note, or using the barre chord position to play the B Minor chord). And, apparently, The Beatles used this chord in many of their songs, according to Tyler!

Now, let's get the best part - actually playing your B Minor chord.

Take your index finger of your left hand, and place it on the second fret (the gap between the 2nd and 3rd pieces of metal) on the sixth string, the one tuned to a "high" E. Then, take your middle finger and place it on the third fret of the fifth string, tuned to B. Next, take your ring finger and place it on the fourth fret of the fourth string, which is tuned to G. Finally, take your pinky finger, and put it on the fourth fret of the third string, tuned to D. It should be right next to your ring finger.

Now, strum only the four strings that you've put your fingers on, and don't strum the E or the A strings.

However, there is a variant of this chord, which uses all of the above, but also uses the thumb on the second fret of the second string, tuned to A.http://guitar.about.com/library/blchord_bminor.htm This is more difficult, as is the "barre" variant (a kind of barre chord), and we won't get into them here. But, these are options for more experienced or more dexterous players.

That's it! Keep practicing until you've got it down, and don't be afraid to keep referring to the video above (or to this How-To in general) if you need help. Good luck!