How To Play The B Guitar Chord – 3 Easy Ways

Who it’s for

If you’re a brand-new beginner, start with this one. It’s fairly easy on the fingers, it sounds good, and it needs no bar at all.

Advantages

• No bar, and no large stretches.
• Practicing it prepares your hand for other chords later.
• It fits most places a song needs a B major chord.
• It works particularly well when you don’t want an overly full sound, such as playing with a keyboard or bass player who is already covering the bass notes.

Disadvantages

• Not as full sounding as the next two forms.
• It doesn’t work well with strums that hit the bass note.
• If your pinky isn’t used to working, it may take a little effort to get it to cooperate.

How to play it

1. Put your first finger on the second fret of the first string (the high E).
2. Stretch your second finger over to the fourth string, fourth fret.
3. Place your third finger on the third string, fourth fret.
4. Place your pinky on the second string, fourth fret. (I usually have students put the second, third and pinky down together.)
5. Strum the top four strings and check that every note sounds. Skip the fifth and sixth strings.
6. Take your fingers off, shake out your hand, and try it again. You did it!

This four-finger version is a great first B chord. You’ll likely want a bar chord version later for more options, and learning this one prepares you for it.

Who it’s for

A good version to learn once you’re fairly comfortable with Form #1. It may also be the first version you learn if you already play bar chords. It works particularly well on a nylon-string guitar.

Advantages

• A fuller sound than Form #1.
• If you can play Form #1, the only addition is the bar.
• The bass notes are there for strums that use them.
• It’s movable: slide it up and down the fretboard and you have many other chords.

Disadvantages

• The bar can be difficult.
• On a thin neck (an electric, say) it can be hard to squeeze all the fingers in.
• With more strings covered, there’s more room for muted or buzzing notes.

How to play it

1. Start by fingering Form #1.
2. Leaving your second, third and fourth fingers where they are, lay your first finger across the second fret to form a bar across the top five strings (or all six, if that’s easier).
3. Strum the top five strings and check that every note sounds. Don’t worry about the sixth string for now.
4. Take your fingers off, shake out your hand, and try it again.

This version uses the often-dreaded bar, but it has many uses, especially when you want a full chord or a strum that includes the bass note. It’s also movable, so you’re learning many chords at once. Learn Form #1 first; it’s the stepping stone to this one.

Who it’s for

This is the easiest version on an electric guitar, where the neck is thin and the strings are light, and it’s the one I use most of the time on my steel-string too. It may look difficult at first, but once you learn the partial bar, you’ll likely find it the quickest and easiest version to use.

Advantages

• Only two fingers, so it’s quicker to make.
• The easiest version to move up and down the neck for other bar chords.
• It leaves the pinky free for other interesting things.

Disadvantages

• The partial bar takes a while to get the hang of.
• It’s harder on a wide neck, like a classical guitar.

How to play it

1. Form a full bar across the second fret. Leave out the sixth string or bar all the way across; either works.
2. Use your third finger to form a partial bar across the fourth, third and second strings at the fourth fret (look at the diagram).
3. Check that the first knuckle of your third finger is collapsed, with the second knuckle up in the air.
4. Keep your thumb behind the neck, with the ball of your thumb resting on it.
5. Strum and check that every note sounds. Don’t worry about the sixth string for now.
6. Take your fingers off, shake out your hand, and try it again.

Electric players often use this version exclusively, and it’s my go-to on steel-string as well, because it’s the quickest to get to when I’m moving around the neck. The partial bar can take a while, so work at it a little at a time.

This is Form #1 with your first finger moved from the first string down to the fifth string, second fret. That note is a B, so this shape has the bass note Form #1 is missing, and still no bar.

How to play it

1. Put your first finger on the fifth string, second fret.
2. Put your second, third and fourth fingers on the fourth fret of the fourth, third and second strings.
3. Let your first finger lean lightly against the sixth string to mute it.
4. Your pinky tends to touch the first string anyway. Let it rest there to mute that string.
5. Strum and check that the fifth through second strings all sound.

It’s a movable chord: whatever note your first finger lands on is the name of the chord. Move it up one fret and you have a C chord; up three frets, a D. It’s also a solid step on the way to bar chords, since adding a bar turns it into Form #2.

Put your first finger on the fifth string, second fret, and your third and fourth fingers on the fourth fret of the fourth and third strings. This is called a power chord.

Mute the sixth string by lightly touching it with your first finger, the same as in Shortcut #1. The open second string is a B, so it can ring. The first string is harder to keep quiet. If it rings, its E turns the chord into a B add 11: not quite a B major, but a useful sound. If you just want the power chord, aim your strum at the middle strings.

A power chord has no third in the chord, the note that makes a chord major or minor, so your ear fills that in from the song around it. It’s a B power chord, and it’s movable too.