How to play B minor on guitar?

Learning to play B minor is not an easy task, in fact, many people drop out of classes when they reach this point. Therefore, in this article we will explain the most effective tips to learn to play not only B minor, but also other chords that need a capo.

What is the difficulty of B on guitar?

If you search for the words “B chord on guitar” on the Internet you will find several results, which can confuse you, so here we summarize the most difficult B chords. In other words, we will first identify and understand the problem, then we will give you excellent advice to solve it. These are probably your biggest problems: B major, B minor and B flat, all with the same degree of difficulty.

But the problem is not the B as a musical note or chord, but the capo that you must make with your left hand so that it sounds clear and in tune. This capo is the same one you need to make other similar chords, for example, D flat, C sharp, F, etc.

If you want to play all these chords with ease, read carefully the concept that we have written for you about the capo.

What is the capo and why should you do it right?

The B minor chord, as well as G sharp, F, E flat and the like require the barre, which is also known as a “barre” by some people on the Internet. Basically, the capo consists of placing the index finger as straight and strong as possible on the strings at a specific fret, of course, without exaggerating.

This bar or capo increases the pitch of the notes that are not being pressed by your other fingers (middle, ring, and little fingers). However, he almost always presses all the strings, to give the sound more precision and, in turn, allow the remaining fingers to be released at specific moments in the songs.  

For example, when you’re doing F major and the song asks you for an F minor right after, you just take your middle finger off. If you haven’t plucked the strings right with your index finger, the F minor chord will sound wrong, like fretting a string. So this is the importance of always plucking all the strings when making a capo.

Seen another way, capo is a technique that sharpens the notes on the guitar fretboard.

Tips to make the B minor and other barres easily

We will give you several tips for making B minor and other barre chords, however, you will have to put in a lot of effort if you want our methods to help you learn faster. Ideally, you should study for at least two hours every day, but if you find that you don’t have the time, practice for an hour.

Next, we begin with the practical advice to play B minor and other complex chords on the Spanish guitar (in this link you will find several products to analyze) or electric.

1. Capos from 1 to 12

This is one of the best tips for beginner guitarists. It consists of placing the index finger as straight and strong as possible on the first fret and strumming the guitar strings with the nails of the right hand or a straw. Each string must sound clean, otherwise repeat the exercise over and over again until you achieve it, every day, as we said before.

The objective is to correctly strike all the strings, but without exaggerating in force, try to relax your mind and concentrate 100%. Specifically, you should play the strings from E high to E low. Perhaps the most difficult thing is to make the D and G strings of the guitar sound good. For this reason, do not be scared if the first days sound bad, since little by little you are getting the necessary strength.

Also, the strings on the first frets may sound good to you, for example, from 1 to 6. In that case, take short breaks and start again from fret 1. You must do the complete exercise, from fret 1 to 12, with a completely clean sound.

2. Major chords with capo from 1 to 10

If you have followed the previous advice correctly and mastered the exercise from fret 1 to 12, the next thing to do is to make a major chord position. In this sense, you will do the position of B major, which is one of the most difficult barre chords. That is, it starts in B flat major, with the capo on the first fret.

Then, work your way up to the 10th fret, but if you have a Stratocaster model electric guitar, you can work your way up to any fret you want, say 15th. Don’t forget to play a down strum with the nails of your right hand or some straw, as in the previous exercise.

3. Harmonic circle of B major

After passing exercise 2 you will be ready to learn the basic harmonic circle of B: B major, G sharp minor, E major and F sharp. There are only 4 chords, but 3 of them require capo with the index finger, so it will help you to strengthen the muscles of your hands more. So you don’t get bored, make a rhythm that you like with your right hand. If you hit all the chords right, you’ll like the sound.

4. Song with barre chords

To end the exercises with a more motivating task, we recommend learning a song in which at least 1 chord requires a capo. This exercise and the previous one will help you improve your speed when changing from one chord to another.

A song in Spanish that we recommend is “De musica light”, since it is in the key of B minor. This is the order of the chords: B minor, G, D and A. It should be noted that the song belongs to the band Soda Stereo and was written by none other than Gustavo Cerati and Zeta Bosio.

The importance of studying guitar comfortably

When you study guitar, comfort is an essential factor, so a footrest could be very useful. This little accessory protects your posture when playing, because it raises the neck of the guitar a little. This makes it more comfortable for your left hand to make barre chords.

Also, we invite you to see the best sofas on the market, because in one of them you could play comfortably and create the right place.