What notes are in a B minor chord?

B minor contains three notes: B (the root), D (the minor third), and F♯ (the perfect fifth).

How do you play a B minor chord on guitar?

The standard voicing is a barre chord (A minor shape barred at the 2nd fret): index finger across strings 5–1 on the 2nd fret, ring finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string, pinky on the 4th fret of the 3rd string, middle finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string.

How is B minor different from B diminished?

The fifth changes. B minor (B–D–F♯) has a perfect fifth on top; B diminished (B–D–F) has a diminished fifth (one half-step lower). That single half-step transforms the chord from "minor and stable" to "diminished and unstable."

What famous pieces are in B minor?

Bach's Mass in B minor (a foundational work of Western choral music), Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony No. 8, Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony, and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances are all in B minor. The key has a long association with profound, weighty subject matter.

B minor chord — notes, intervals, and practice

B minor is the relative minor of D major — both keys share the same two-sharp signature (F♯, C♯). B minor sits at a sweet spot for guitar: comfortable enough to play in barre voicings, dark enough to sustain serious music. Bach's Mass in B minor and the slow movement of Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony are both anchored here. The chord contains B, D, and F♯.

Intervals

The B minor chord stacks two thirds on the root. Each interval and its size in semitones:

B→Dminor 3rd3 semitones
D→F#major 3rd4 semitones
B→F#perfect 5th7 semitones

On the keyboard

Each note of the B minor chord highlighted on a piano. Pitch class is what matters — any octave works.

On the guitar

One voicing of the B minor chord on a six-string guitar fretboard.

Common mistakes

B minor's fifth is F♯, not F natural — this is where most chord-chart errors happen. Without the F♯, the chord becomes B diminished (B–D–F), a completely different harmonic colour. The two-sharp key signature provides the F♯ implicitly, but if you're reading lead sheets without a key signature, you have to know the sharp belongs there. On guitar, B minor is most often played as a barre chord at the 2nd fret (A minor shape) — there's no fully-open B minor voicing.

In context

B minor is the i chord in B minor, the vi chord in D major (the relative-minor position), the ii in A major, and the iii in G major. Bach's Mass in B minor uses the chord constantly; in popular music the Bm–G–D–A progression is a folk and indie staple, putting B minor in the i position before climbing through the relative-major chords.

Drill it

The B minor chord is one of 48 in the Chord Trainer. Open the full trainer to practice it alongside related chords with timing and best-time tracking.

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Frequently asked

What notes are in a B minor chord?: B minor contains three notes: B (the root), D (the minor third), and F♯ (the perfect fifth).
How do you play a B minor chord on guitar?: The standard voicing is a barre chord (A minor shape barred at the 2nd fret): index finger across strings 5–1 on the 2nd fret, ring finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string, pinky on the 4th fret of the 3rd string, middle finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string.
How is B minor different from B diminished?: The fifth changes. B minor (B–D–F♯) has a perfect fifth on top; B diminished (B–D–F) has a diminished fifth (one half-step lower). That single half-step transforms the chord from "minor and stable" to "diminished and unstable."
What famous pieces are in B minor?: Bach's Mass in B minor (a foundational work of Western choral music), Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony No. 8, Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony, and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances are all in B minor. The key has a long association with profound, weighty subject matter.