Learn The B Minor Chord on Bass (Bm)

How to Play The B Minor Chord on Bass

The most common way to play the B minor chord on bass is at the 3rd position of the fretboard, on the E, A, and D strings. Play it with your ring, pinky, and index fingers. Here’s how to place your fingers:

• Ring finger (3) on fret 2 of the E string
• Pinky finger (4) on fret 2 of the A string
• Index finger (1) on fret 0 of the D string (The open D string)

The root note, B, is on the 2nd fret of the A string, which you can see in the chord diagram below. 

You can also play B minor as a dyad, which means playing it with only the 2 primary intervals: the root (B) and the minor 3rd (D). 

You can use this B minor arpeggio bass diagram to visualize and construct the B minor chord in any position on your fretboard.

Other names for B Minor

The B minor chord can be written in several ways, including:

• BMinor
• Bmin
• Bm

These notations all represent the same chord, built from the notes B, D, and F#.

Practicing the B Minor chord on bass

The B minor chord is the root chord in the B natural minor scale, so use it in a 1-4-5 progression in the key of B minor. This gives you the chords Bm – Em – F#m.

The B minor chord also sounds great as the minor vi chord in the D major scale. Use it in a D major chord progression, such as D – Bmin – G – A.