5 Ways to Play the B chord on Guitar | How many ways can you play B chord on guitar? (2024)

There are many ways to play the B chord on guitar. Below are 5 of those ways.

Learning how to play the same chord in different ways and around different parts of the fretboard is a great way to add to your repertoire and can really help you to change the flavor of a song, help to add some uniqueness when writing songs and gives you some options when improvising.

To clarify: When I say “B”, I mean B major.

B Chord Variation 1: Open B Variation 1

Most people don’t typically play an open B. B is usually played as a barre chord (see variation 3 below) as the go-to for most people. But you can play B in the open position without using a barre chord.

This first variation of the open B chord isn’t really an open chord – but it’s close to that open position on the fretboard.

This is played by:

1. Placing your 1^st finger (index finger) in the 2^nd fret of the High E string
2. Placing your 2^nd finger (middle finger) in the 4^th fret of the D string
3. Placing your 3^rd finger (ring finger) in the 4^th fret of the G string
4. Placing your 4^th finger (pinky) in the 4^th fret of the B string

Only the D, G, B and High E strings are strummed when strumming this chord. I like to bring my thumb over the top of the neck to mute the Low E and A strings so that I don’t accidentally play them and so that I don’t have to think as hard about my strumming hand.

B Chord Variation 2: Open B Variation 2

Another variation you can use in the first position is a little bit more difficult to play but it has a different flavor and makes use of the open B string. There are a couple of variations within this variation.

This is played by:

1. Placing your 1^st finger (index finger) in the 1^st fret of the D string
2. Placing your 2^nd finger (middle finger) in the 2^nd fret of the A string
3. Placing your 3^rd finger (ring finger) in the 2^nd fret of the High E string

Here you don’t strum the Low E string and you need to either mute the G string (either with your pinky or by flattening out your index finger) or place your pinky finger in the 4^th fret of the G string (quite a stretch!).

This chord is best used for finger-picking and not strumming, in my opinon, because even muting that G string can still bring in that discordant character so, unless that discordance is what you’re after, it doesn’t necessarily sound good strumming.

The other way you could play this to give it yet another flavor, is to give it an F# bass.

This is played by:

1. Placing your 1^st finger (index finger) in the 1^st fret of the D string
2. Placing your 2^nd finger (middle finger) in the 2^nd fret of the Low E string
3. Placing your 3^rd finger (ring finger) in the 2^nd fret of the A string
4. Placing your 4^th finger (pinky) in the 2^nd fret of the High E string

Here you would strum all of the strings but you’ll need to flatten out your index finger a little to mute that G string.

B Chord Variation 3: Barre B

The Barre B chord is the most played of the B chords and can be played in two main positions.

The A string Barre B” is played by barring the 2^nd fret and creating the open A shape in the 4^th fret. All the strings except for the Low E are strummed when strumming this chord.

If you aren’t sure about how to play barre chords check out the link below.

>>How to Play Major Barre Chords on Guitar

How you create the A shape is up to you. Personally, I find more difficult to put all 3 of my fingers into the 4^th fret so I make that A shape by barring the D, G, & B strings in the 4^th fret with my 3^rd finger (ring finger).

The “E string Barre B” is played by barring the 7th fret with your index finger and making an open E shape in the 8^th and 9^th frets. This chord adds an extra B into the chord (6^th fret high E string) that’s an octave higher than the highest B in the “A string Barre B”.

>>How to Play Bm Chords on Guitar

So whilst people often consider these two barre chords exactly the same, there is a slight difference and a subtly different flavor.

B Chord Variation 4: Higher up the fretboard

This variation gives a B chord option that is higher up the fretboard. It has a significantly different flavor to the Barre chords we just learned. This chord almost has a ukulele feel to it (IMO).

1. Place your 1^st finger on the 9^th fret on the D string
2. Place your 2^nd finger on the 11^th fret on the G string
3. Place your 3^rd finger on the 11^th fret on the high E string
4. Place your 4^th finger on the 12^th fret on the B string

Don’t strum the Low E and A strings when you are strumming this.

You can also bring in a F# bass by barring the A and D strings with your 1^st finger. I find that this (and without the F# bass) sounds best when fingerpicking or flat-picking but you can strum it too.

B Chord Variation 5: Mid Fingerboard

Now a nice easy one to finish.

1. Place the 1^st finger in the 7^th fret of the B string
2. Place the 2^nd finger in the 7^th fret on the high e string
3. Place the 3^rd finger in the 8^th fret on the G string
4. Place the 4^th finger in the 9^th fret on the D string

Strum only the D, G, B and high e strings. This is the same shape as is used for an open F chord.

The other way you can play it is by barring the B and low e strings with your 1^st finger and using your 2^nd and 3^rd fingers for the other 2 notes. This frees up your pinky to do other things.

Another variation is to barre the B and high e strings with your 1^st finger and use your 2^nd finger in the 8^th fret on the G string, your 3^rd finger in the 9^th fret A string and your 4^th finger in the 9^th fret on the D string. This gives you a B with an F# bass.

Thanks for Reading

I hope this post has given you some new options for playing the B major chord. A

re there any other ways that you like to play the B chord? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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