A little help on B and Bm

[Freedbaby]

I started playing Christmas Eve and so far its going well. My teacher encouraged me to not only continue to practice songs that use chords that I am comfortable with but to also start on songs that have chords that I DONT know.

SOOOO....I hit a tough one. My daughter continually asks me to play "Let It Go" from Frozen and its got B and Bm in it which I am finding to be VERY difficult.

Any tips on these?

[skitoolong]

Tough ones, to be sure until you have the bar chord routine under your belt.

What work have you done on A shape Bar chords and Am shape bar chords?

[Rickytuk]

The A shape is really tough on beginners. Perhaps try to stick with the E-shape and E minor shapes which is pretty easy on the 7th fret.

[Pualee]

This is why your teacher told you to start playing chords you don't know. You can get them down now and have less roadblocks later.

If you are playing in the open position, go for the "A barre chord". I play it with index barring on 2nd fret, and ring barring on 4th. Then just play strings 5 through 2. You could also try a Sus2 instead (it is easier)... but you might as well get it down the right way now.

Alternatively, you don't have to barre at all. You can fret the 3 strings for the "A" shape and then use your index on the 2nd fret (either the 5 or the 1 string).

Likewise, you can do Bm as either barre or not. It is best to get it down several different ways... then use whatever voice fits the best, or whichever you can hit fastest (if speed matters).

I think it takes about 6 months to really get the barre chords down, so start now! Once you have it them (the E shape and A shape), you really have a lot of possibilities. I'm also starting to like the C shape too.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Freedbaby

I started playing Christmas Eve and so far its going well. My teacher encouraged me to not only continue to practice songs that use chords that I am comfortable with but to also start on songs that have chords that I DONT know.

SOOOO....I hit a tough one. My daughter continually asks me to play "Let It Go" from Frozen and its got B and Bm in it which I am finding to be VERY difficult.

Any tips on these?

Talking about that song specifically - In the original key, the chords are all pretty tough unless you use a capo.
With a capo on fret 1, you can use the shapes given here:
http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/i/id..._it_go_crd.htm
And if you (or your daughter!) don't mind playing a half-step down from the original key, you can play those shapes without the capo. (But then you wouldn't be able to play along with the original.)

There's still a few complicated looking chords there, but you can simplify them as follows (I've tried them, and they work well enough) - the fret numbers below are all counted from the capo, ie fret 1 is treated as 0 (open string):

Asus4 - not a difficult shape (x-0-2-2-3-0), but you can just play Am here (right after the D)

Cadd2 - play a normal C, or you can try a Cadd2 like this: x-3-0-0-1-0, or x-3-2-0-3-0 (Cadd9). (Not difficult shapes, but not essential either.)

Dadd11/F# (!) - plain D works fine.

Cadd9 - again, plain C works OK.

G/B = x-2-0-0-0-3, or x-2-0-0-3-3

Gm/Bb = x-1-0-0-3-3, or just x-1-0-0-x-x-, if you can mute (or avoid playing) the other strings. This is the only chord with an actual B bass in the original key (2nd fret 5th string, 1st fret above capo) - but it's not a B chord; and there is no Bm. (It's possible you got your chords from someone who'd tuned their guitar down a half-step; they would need those shapes for the chords given as A and Am in the above chart.)

Remember, in normal tuning, you need a capo on fret 1 to be in the same key as the original, if that matters (eg to play along with the original).

...

In general, however, for other songs, you will need to get on top of that tricky A-shape barre eventually. There are various "cheats" - as explained above:

1. A perfectly good alternative is the 7th fret "E" shape - unless all your other chords are down around 2nd fret or open position!

2. If I want the 2nd fret position, I often use the middle 4-strings shape Pualee describes:
-x- mute with side of pinky, or underside of index
-4- pinky
-4- ring
-4- middle
-2- index
-x- mute with tip of index, or with thumb (if you can get it over)
I.e., the index only has to actually fret one string. And the chord can sound better without the 6th string anyway.

3. Even easier (if the index-middle stretch defeats you), try this one:
-x- mute with side of pinky, or underside of index
-4- pinky
-x- mute with ring
-4- ring
-2- index
-x- mute with tip of index, or with thumb (if you can get it over)
That's only 3 notes, but it's a complete B chord (major and minor triads only need 3 different notes).

Lastly, if the key of the song is E or E minor, you can probably use B7 instead of B:
-2-
-0-
-2-
-1-
-2-
-x-

There are similar "cheats" for the Bm chord:

1. middle 4 strings (one finger per string)

2. open 4th string:
-2- middle
-3- ring
-4- pinky
-0-
-2- index
-x-

3. "Beginner" top 4 strings:
-2- index
-3- middle
-4- pinky
-4- ring
-x-
-x-

[Freedbaby]

Thanks for the replies...I will practice some more tonight.

[Erik Singletary]

Something else to try. Throw a capo on it about two frets up, and play it in a bit higher key. Barre chords are easier along the middle of the neck. This trick has helped me. Keep trying, so much of it is just muscle memory and strength, both of which take time. I am new too so don't feel like you are alone. Though I don't have play that song, thank goodness.....

[ShawnH]

Have to use a capo here (IMO) if you are going to play in the "correct" key. It's easier to sing playing it in G of course without the capo.

If you are just starting out, nothing at all wrong with playing G-D-Em-C for the chorus. It sounds fine and I'm sure your daughter will enjoy it. However - the more you attempt new and more difficult chords - the quicker they will come.

Learn Olaf's song - that's a lot more fun - although quite challenging.


__________________

[polarred21]

Originally Posted by ShawnH

If you are just starting out, nothing at all wrong with playing G-D-Em-C for the chorus.

Hey Freed, this put you back to Wagon Wheel chords

Did you get that one down? Good luck with the B and let me know how your F chord is going....

[_zedagive]

My A-shape barres have been a limitation for me from the start of my playing. My ring finger doesn't bend backwards to be able to barre the middle strings while barring all 6 above with my first finger, so I have to use my pinkie for that. Those that can do it with the ring finger can then use the pinkie to add other notes as needed. Maybe there's a torture device out there I can get a hold of to get that sucker to learn to cooperate.

[jjtrain]

Any 'B' chord is difficult in my opinion and I avoid them when I can... but when I can't it all comes down to stretching, relaxing, and manipulating fingers. Sorry to say, but only practice will get you to play difficult chords, no cheat will completely solve the problem. If it helps, I can't do barre chords that well and avoid those. My excuse is to use the 'KISS' principal with music, "keep it straight and simple." That does work because I bypass the problem and instead focus on producing better sound and better singing. The other thing with "Let it Go" in particular is that the song is played primarily by a piano. Piano music and guitars don't mix too well for simple strummers like myself.

Hope that gave some insight and good luck. If you do master B chords, you'll have removed a major roadblock for yourself.

--James