Bm7 Guitar Chord
Bm7 opens here as x20202, a B minor seventh with no barre at all: three fingers at the second fret, on the fifth, third and first strings, with the open D and B strings ringing between them. It sounds B D A B F#, which is B minor's three notes, B, D and F#, with an A added, the minor seventh. That is why it is the shape many players use while the B minor barre is still out of reach, and why it turns up so often in songs in D, G and A. The chart also holds the B minor barre, the four-string Bm, Bmaj7 and D/B beside it, and every one of them names the notes it sounds, worked out from the open strings, so the difference between Bm, Bm7 and Bmaj7 is visible rather than something to take on trust.
Bm7 · x20202
notes B D A B F#
lowest note B on string 5
open shape, fret 2, 5 strings sounding, 1 muted
B minor with no barre: three fingers at the second fret and two open strings. The open D and B do the work the barre does.
Common questions
- How do you play Bm7 on guitar?
- Bm7 is x20202, read from the sixth string: leave the sixth string out, press the fifth string at the second fret, let the fourth ring open, press the third at the second fret, let the second ring open, and press the first at the second fret. The index, middle and ring fingers take the three pressed strings in that order. The notes are B D A B F#. Written as guitar tab, first string on the top line, it is the column 2, 0, 2, 0, 2 with the sixth string left out. The open strings have to ring, so keep the fingers arched and on their tips.
- What is the difference between Bm, Bm7 and Bmaj7?
- B minor is B, D and F#. Bm7 adds A, a whole tone below the root, which softens the chord and is why it suits so many songs. Bmaj7 is a different chord altogether: it is built on B major, B, D# and F#, and adds A#, a semitone below the root, which gives it a brighter, more open sound. All three are on this chart: B minor at x24432, Bm7 at x20202 and Bmaj7 in the B and B♭ set. Compare the note names under each diagram to see which notes change from one to the next.
- Can I play Bm7 instead of B minor?
- Often, and many players do while the barre is still hard. The A that Bm7 adds belongs to the keys of D, G and A, where B minor usually turns up, so it seldom sounds wrong. Where the melody sits on A#, or the song wants the settled sound of the plain triad, B minor is the better fit, and your ear decides it faster than any rule: play the song both ways and listen. If you want plain B minor without the full barre, the four-string Bm easy shape on this chart is xx4432 and sounds F# B D F#.
- Is D/B the same as Bm7?
- They hold the same four notes, B, D, F# and A, so in sound they are the same chord with a different name. The name says which job the chord is doing: D/B is a D major chord with B in the bass, written that way when a bass line walks down under a D, and Bm7 is a B minor chord with a seventh. On this chart D/B is x20232 and Bm7 is x20202; the only difference is the second string, D at the third fret in D/B and open B in Bm7, and the note names under each diagram show it.
Every diagram is a named fingering with its own frets, fingers and muted strings, and the note names under it are computed from standard tuning. It cannot know your tuning or the reach of your hand, and a chord has more than one shape: these are the common ones, not the only ones.