How about that B minor Chord

[jemartin]

I can empathize with you. It seemed to be tricky to me to make sure i had the correct position on my wide neck guitars. But i am glad that it is not a problem now... since i have found that the songs that i like a lot, in a lot of cases start with a Bm... or have it placed in the progression at the beginning and throughout the song. I dont know why i like that tone so much but i had to learn to use it to play some great sounding songs!

[jkilgour2000]

Took me 15 years to be able to land that Bm barre chord quickly. Still can’t handle a B maj barre though lol

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by jkilgour2000

Took me 15 years to be able to land that Bm barre chord quickly. Still can’t handle a B maj barre though lol

Have you tried that B major bar with your pinky, rather than your third finger? The joint may bend a little easier, and allow for better contact. And the length of the last section of the pinky is smaller, so it may fit "cleaner" on the 3 strings you need to bar, while avoiding the others.

This is how I taught myself, and only much learned later that it was "wrong" (can't use the pinky to do variations on other strings).

[Condition1]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

Whoa! I just have my li'l ol G26.

I have a G26 and a G29 as well, love them both.

[Condition1]

I have tried to avoid songs with the Bm chords for a while, but now I would like to play some of the songs I like and many have the Bm chord.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by bufflehead

play it the easy way

x x 4 4 3 2

Me too, or I'll capo up and use an am shape.

[Nymuso]

The best solutions have been described above and come down to just learn how to barre the Am. However, in the meantime . . . .

. . . can you thumb over while playing a D far enough to catch the 5th string at the second fret? If so, this will give you a B bass under a D chord, which, if you look at the notes you're playing, will yield a Bm7 chord. Not ideal in all situations but applicable in many.

Another work around would be to lift your middle finger from an open D and bring it over to catch the 5th sting second fret B. As a fingerpicker, I do this often since I can play only the strings I want, but if you do catch that open E it wouldn't be the end of the world; you would simply be adding a 4 over the Bm giving you a Bm11. Also not always ideal but you might find it fits many situations.

[Condition1]

Originally Posted by bufflehead

play it the easy way

x x 4 4 3 2

Please educate me

Does that mean -
Not to hit the last two strings (6 and 5)
Hit strings 4 and 3 on the 4th fret
Hit string 2 on the 3rd fret
Hit string 1 on the 2nd fret

?

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by Condition1

Please educate me

Does that mean -
Not to hit the last two strings (6 and 5)
Hit strings 4 and 3 on the 4th fret
Hit string 2 on the 3rd fret
Hit string 1 on the 2nd fret

?

Yup. You’ll be seeing chords represented like that a lot. 022100 for example is your E chord, X02220 is A, etc.

[Condition1]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

Yup. You’ll be seeing chords represented like that a lot. 022100 for example is your E chord, X02220 is A, etc.

Thanks mate!

[geichel]

I was able to get the F and Bm barre chords down in the 30th year of playing. That was the mid-nineties. I've just gotten comfortable with the B7 (x21202) down. I would avoid songs with it but saw a few blues progressions that threw it in and just kept working on it. I easily hit it on my Martin HD-28V but not as much on my GS-Mini. Choose tunes that you really like with those tough chords and shoot for 1000 reps.

[shufflebeat]

Cheat!

x2440x (no minor 3rd but nobody cares)

x2020x (minor 3rd and sneaky flattened 7th but nobody cares)

X2403x (when you're feeling windswept and interesting)

[TBman]

Man up and do it x24432, its only 5 strings

[macmanmatty]

Originally Posted by TBman

Man up and do it x24432, its only 5 strings

I agree 125% I'm sick of all these just play a B minor 7th it will sound ok posts. Man up and lean the full barred Bm chord. When you cheat at learning guitar you're really only cheating yourself.

[Glennwillow]

I think if you practice and get used to making the Am shape with your middle, ring and pinky fingers, allowing your index finger to make the barre across the strings, the Bm (or Cm or C#m or Dm, etc) becomes easier. It takes practice of course.

When I made the decision to start playing the Bm chord as a barre chord, I remember the time quite well, even though I was only 16 years old. I drew a sort of imaginary line in the sand and decided, from now on I play this Bm chord as a barre chord. And after 2 or 3 weeks, it began to feel more natural. I was playing a lot in those days, maybe 3 hours per day, every day, but perhaps that experience gives you some idea of what it takes to make the transition.

Best of luck to you!

- Glenn