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Bm Chord and B Major Chord Family is Part 8 in a 14 part series on Learn to Play Guitar Lessons.
We will learn to play B Major and B minor in multiple
places on the guitar. We will also learn all of the diatonic chords in
the key of B Major.
NOTE: To review the major scale visit C Major Scale
Again, a triad is a 3 note chord. You need a root, a 3rd and a 5th.
Below is a B major scale. The notes are B,C#,D#E,F#,G#,A#
Take the 1st note B, the 3rd note D# and the 5th note F#. This makes a B Maj chord. Often the 1st note (also called the root or the tonic) and/or the 5th note is doubled. The 3rd is rarely doubled.
In the B guitar chord below, the notes are as follows:
Top string - (not played)
5th string - B (root)
4th string - F# (5th)
3rd string - B (root doubled)
2nd string - D# (3rd)
1st string - F# (5th doubled)
A minor triad is still a 3 note chord.
You need a root, a minor 3rd and a 5th. B minor is the relative minor
(VI chord) in D Major.
Below is a B minor scale (also called natural minor). The notes are: B,C#,D,E,F#,G,A
Take the 1st note B, the 3rd note D# which is now down a half step (or semi-tone) to D and the 5th note F#. This makes an B minor chord.
In the Bm chord below the notes are as follows:
Here the 1st note (also called the root or the tonic) and the 5th note are doubled. The minor 3rd is only played once.
Top string - (not played)
5th string - B (root)
4th string - F# (5th)
3rd string - B (root doubled)
2nd string - D (minor 3rd)
1st string - F# (5th doubled)
DIATONIC CHORDS IN B MAJOR
The reason the next key is B is that it is the 6th chord in the Circle of 5ths and has 5 sharps, F#, C#, G#, D# and A#.
To review music theory chords in a key visit C Major Chord and Chord Theory and return.
There are 7 chords in a key indicated by roman numerals. In B Major they are:
B Major is the I Major chord
C# minor is the II minor chord
D# minor is the III minor chord
E Major is the IV Major chord
F# Major is the V Major chord
G# minor is the VI minor chord
A# diminished is the VII diminished chord
B Major / I Major
C# minor / II minor
D# minor / III minor
E Major / IV Major
F# Major / V Major
G# minor / VI minor
A# diminished / VII diminished
Thanks for viewing B Major Chord and Family. Now let's move to a new chord family, F. It introduces our first flat, Bb.
Continue to Part 9, F Guitar Chords
Return to Top of Bm Chord and Family
Return to Learn to Play Guitar Lessons
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