B, the B major guitar chord

B major is the same five-string barre as B minor with the middle filled in: three strings pinned at the 4th fret over an index barre at the 2nd. Most players flatten the ring finger across those three, and it feels clumsy for a while. That’s normal. You’ll meet B wherever a song in E wants to build tension. Keep the low E out of the strum, and pick the five strings one at a time to hear that none of them died under a flat finger.

B
Ⓡ×13

How to play it

  • Index finger flattened across the A string (5th) and high E string (1st), 2nd fret.
  • Ring finger flattened across the D string (4th), G string (3rd) and B string (2nd), 4th fret.
  • Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.

Changes to practice

Holding B still is the easy part. Songs need you to arrive at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice B as changes, alongside the rest of the A-shape Barres set:

Same root, different color

  • Bm, B minor