The most dreaded of all beginner chords is undoubtedly the F, but Bm comes a close second. 

F and Bm are basically the same shape, but to play a Bm, you move your fingers down a string, and the barre up a fret. This makes it easier to play than the F chord because the strings you are pressing are thinner, and there is less tension exerted by the nut on the second fret, therefore making it easier to press down.

But let’s start with the basics, just in case you haven't learned how to play an F chord yet…

How to Play a Bm

The best way to picture a Bm chord is to imagine an Am chord two frets further up the neck than it normally is. The simplest way to do this is to play an Am but not use your first finger, therefore replace the note you usually play with your first finger with your second finger, the note that you usually play with your second finger with your third, and the note that you usually play with your third finger with your little finger.

You should now have a chord that looks and sounds like an Am but your first finger isn’t being used. Now slide this chord up two frets so that your second finger is on the third fret and your third and little fingers are on the fourth fret, and place your first finger as a barre across five strings on the second fret as shown below:

According to the rules of music theory, you shouldn’t play the low E string, but at this stage, I would barre all six strings and play them all. As you improve, you can re-position your first finger slightly so that you are muting the low E string, but that’s a little too complicated for now.

Most beginners find barre chords very difficult, so here are two things to remember to make them sound great in no time at all:

Don’t be a softy

In diagrams and pictures of guitarists playing the chord, the first finger that barres across all the strings seems to be pointing straight up and is flat on the fretboard. This isn’t quite correct, you do need to keep your first finger pointing straight up, but if you do, you will be using the soft, fleshy underside of your finger to press down on the strings. So, turn your first finger ever so slightly towards the nut, this will enable you to use the harder skin and your knuckles to press down, which will give you more strength and provide a more solid surface in contact with the strings.

It’s all in the Hand Position

If you watch a beginner trying to make a chord shape, they are concentrating on stretching one finger to a new position, while trying to tuck another finger into some tight space. However, if you watch a pro doing the same thing, they position their hand so that the fingers seem to magically fall into place with no effort. 

The art of getting your chords to sound perfect is in hand position, not finger position, so spend time moving your hand to get it in the right position for each and every chord. You can’t be taught to do this, because all of our hands are different, so what works for me might not work for you. It’s just a case of experimenting until you find the perfect hand position, then remembering it until muscle memory takes over and you instinctively go to that position.

Best Exercises to Learn a Bm Chord

Practice makes perfect, but some quality exercises will rapidly decrease the time it takes you to master the B minor chord from a few months to days. The first is the…

Chord Squeeze Ball

This is a guitar version of using a squeeze ball, a recognized technique for improving finger function after accidents. Don’t worry, you won’t need an actual squeeze ball, you’ll be using your guitar.

Start by playing the Bm chord and give it one downward strum. Try and make it sound as good as you can, but don’t worry if it isn’t perfect, it will be soon! Now relax your fingertips but keep them in place on the strings. You are now going to strum again, but as you make contact with the strings, press all your fingers down to make the chord. So strum away leaving 3-4 seconds between each downward strum.

Continue this strum and relax cycle for a minute or two. Then take a break and do it again later that day for the quickest improvement.

The Bm Chord Press and Release Excercise

This is a more advanced version of the previous exercise, but you move your fingers further and further away from the strings over time until they are at right angles with the neck of the guitar. There is a detailed description in my article on How to Quickly Master the F Chord on Guitar so check that out for more details.

Both of these exercises can be used on any chord that you are having problems with, either as a beginner or as a far more advanced guitarist. So, try them on the F chord and the B major chord when it’s time to start learning those.

Why is mastering the Bm chord so important?

We changed an Am chord into a Bm by playing the same chord shape two frets up the neck. But what if we had only moved it one fret? Well, it would become a B flat minor (Bbm). And if we’d moved it up three frets, not two, it would become a C minor chord, five frets a D minor chord, etc., etc.

The fact that you can use this chord shape to play any minor chord is what makes it so useful. You’re probably now wondering “But how do we know which chord it is?”. That will depend on which note you are playing on the A string (the second thickest string).

Bm is an Am-shaped chord, therefore it is governed by the note on the A string, which is the chord's root note. When you play an Am chord, the root is the open A string, when you move the chord up two frets to become a B minor, the root also goes up two frets to become a B. If you go up another fret, the note on the A string will change to a C, signifying that you are playing a C minor chord. This is what allows you to play any minor chord using a barred version of the Am chord shape.

Bonus Chord Time - Bm7

The only difference between a B minor and a B minor Seventh is the little finger. You use your pinky when playing the Bm, but lift it off the neck to play the Bm7. Therefore, learning this extremely useful chord is just a matter of lifting that little finger.

And guess what? If you need to play a Cm7 move the shape up to the third fret, or a Dm7, up to the fifth fret, or an Em7, up to the seventh. In exactly the same way as with the Bm, you can use this slight change of the chord shape to play the minor seventh version of any chord.

What are the Best Songs to Learn to Play Bm?

If you’re rhythm playing is quite good then the best Bm song for beginners is What’s Up by the 4 Non Blondes. The reason is simple, the song contains a single chord sequence that goes from the beginning to the end without any changes:

A - Bm - E - A

Therefore you are playing a Bm chord every four bars for the entire duration of the song.

The rhythm is however a little complicated. For starters, you can play along with the song by just playing a single downstroke for every chord change, this will give you plenty of time to change chords. Then, when that gets easy, play two downstrokes per chord, followed by three, then finally four. Once you get your chord changes up to speed, you can learn the exact rhythm and play along using that. The rhythm is:

D  DuD  DuD Du uDu

With D representing a Downstroke, and u representing an upstroke. 

There is a simple rule for reading rhythms, and that is ‘if you can’t say it, you can’t play it’. Your brain needs to understand the rhythm before your arm will follow suit and play it. So, when it’s time to master the rhythm, play the video below and say the rhythm out loud as you hear it. Then try strumming it, if you are making mistakes, stop playing, and say the rhythm over and over again until you get it, then magically you will strum along with it.

Next, we have a lesser-known early song by U2, Party Girl. This is a fantastic song for learning the Bm Chord on guitar for the exact same reason, it contains a single chord sequence that repeats throughout the song, this time it’s:

Bm - Bm - Em - A

There are occasional stops in the song, which also makes it great for beginners so that you can rest your fingers for a few seconds and rejoin the song in the correct place.

As with nearly every U2 song, the guitar is tuned down to Eb, making every string one semi-tone lower than it normally is. This is easily done with most tuners or tuning apps.

For the next song, you’ll have to get creative because it’s an acoustic version of Diamonds by Rihanna but there is no guitar on it, only vocal and piano. The chords are simple and again continue throughout the whole song, they are:

G - Bm - A - A

For the intro, play a single downstroke in time with the piano, then as the song progresses, build up a rhythm that fits with it. This will not only improve your ability to play the B minor chord but also develop your skills at creating dynamics throughout a song.

More complicated Bm chord Songs

Countless songs contain the Bm chord and the three I’ve included are among the easiest. But if you’re chord knowledge is a little more advanced, you can try playing along with these classics:

• Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd

• While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles

• Hotel California by The Eagles

Wrapping it Up

We’ve come to the end of my look at the best ways to play a Bm chord quickly on guitar, and hopefully playing it now seems a lot less daunting than it did. If you follow the techniques I’ve highlighted and practice along with a few of the songs I’ve suggested, you should be playing Bm like a pro in no time at all.

As with learning any instrument, practice makes perfect, so be patient, stay focused, and enjoy the journey!