Chords in the Key of B Minor
The key of B minor contains seven chords: Bm, C#dim, D, Em, F#m, G and A. The key signature is two sharps, F# and C#, and songs in B minor rest on Bm and lean most often on D, G and A.
The seven chords on guitar
Each chord below opens its own page, with more shapes up the neck, audio for every voicing and a printable chart. Tap the play button on any card to hear it.
The seven chords on piano
The same seven chords on a keyboard, in root position. Each one opens its own page, with every inversion and the finger numbers for both hands.
iBmB D F♯ 
the home chord
ii°C#dimC♯ E G 
the tense one, used sparingly
IIIDD F♯ A 
the relative major, the bright lift
ivEmE G B 
the darker step away from home
vF#mF♯ A C♯ 
the pull home, usually played major
VIGG B D 
the warm place to rest
VIIAA C♯ E 
a step below home, the rock cadence
The seventh chords in B minor
Add one more note to each chord and the key gains its seventh chords, which is where most jazz and a good deal of soul begins.
Common progressions in B minor
- i - VI - III - VII
Bm G D A
The most common minor key progression in pop and rock. Only Bm needs a barre, so a capo at the second fret with Am, F, C and G shapes gets you the same sound with open chords.
- i - iv - v
Bm Em F#m
The plain, sad version of the key, all three chords minor. In most real songs the last chord is played as F# or F#7 instead of F#m, which is what gives the return to Bm its pull.
- i - VII - VI
Bm A G
A descending line that is the sound of countless rock and folk songs. After the Bm barre it is two open chords walking downhill, so it is a good one to practise the barre against.
- i - iv - VII - III
Bm Em A D
This one keeps moving because each chord is a fourth above the last. It drifts toward D major at the end, which is a useful way to hear how close the relative major is.
Why these seven chords
On a stave, B minor is written with two sharps, F# and C#, which is how a reader knows the key before playing a note.
B minor is the natural minor scale built on B, and stacking triads on each of its notes gives the degrees i, ii dim, III, iv, v, VI and VII: Bm, C#dim, D, Em, F#m, G and A. Three of them are major (D, G and A), three are minor (Bm, Em and F#m), and one is diminished (C#dim), which is why the diminished chord shows up so rarely in songs.
B minor shares its two sharps and all seven chords with D major, its relative major. Nothing changes in the notes; what changes is which chord the music treats as home. A song that keeps returning to Bm is in B minor, and the same chords resolving to D are in D major. The one chord you will meet that is not in the list of seven is F# major, usually F#7. That comes from the harmonic minor scale, which raises the seventh note of the scale from A to A#, turning the minor v into a major chord with a strong pull back to Bm. When a B minor song sounds like it really lands at the end of a phrase, that F#7 is normally what did it.
On guitar
B minor is a mixed bag on guitar. Four of the seven chords are open shapes: D, Em, G and A, and they are the four you will play most. The two that carry the key, the tonic Bm and the v chord F#m, are both barres. Bm is usually played as an A minor shape barred at the second fret, and F#m as an E minor shape barred at the second fret, so at least the two barres sit in the same position and your first finger stays put.
If the barres are not ready yet, the standard route for beginners is a capo at the second fret playing A minor shapes. Am becomes Bm, C becomes D, G becomes A and Dm becomes Em, so the whole key comes out of open shapes with no barre at all. It is worth learning both: the capo gets you playing today, and the barred version lets you sit in with other people who are not using a capo. Every diagram on this site has a left-handed toggle and audio, so you can hear which voicing you want before you commit to it.
On piano
The B minor scale uses two black keys, F# and C#, and both of them sit in the group of three black keys and the group of two. The hand sits comfortably: the tonic Bm is B, D and F#, so one black key on top, and the thumb has a white key to start from.
The easiest chords in the key are D, Em, G and A, all white keys. F#m (F#, A, C#) is the one that puts two black keys in the chord and takes the most practice to place cleanly, and C#dim (C#, E, G) is the odd one, though you will rarely need it. Each chord page here shows every inversion with fingering for both hands, which is what you want when you are moving from Bm to F#m without jumping the hand across the keyboard.
Questions about the key of B Minor
What are the 7 chords in the key of B minor?
Bm, C#dim, D, Em, F#m, G and A. Bm, Em and F#m are minor, D, G and A are major, and C#dim is diminished.
What is the relative major of B minor?
D major. It has the same two sharps, F# and C#, and exactly the same seven chords. The only difference is that the music rests on D instead of Bm.
Why do B minor songs use F# or F#7 instead of F#m?
Raising the third of the v chord gives you A# instead of A, the leading note, which pulls hard back to Bm. It comes from the harmonic minor scale and is the one chord in B minor songs that is not in the list of seven.
How do you play in B minor with a capo?
Put a capo at the second fret and play A minor shapes. Am sounds as Bm, C sounds as D, G sounds as A and Dm sounds as Em, so the whole key comes out of open chords.
Which chords in B minor need a barre on guitar?
Bm and F#m. D, Em, G and A are all open shapes, and C#dim is rare enough that most players never meet it.
What do the numbers next to each chord mean?
They are each chord's place in the key, written as Roman numerals. In B minor the i is Bm, the iv is Em and the v is F#m. The numbering holds in every key, so the v of A minor is Em. That is why progressions get written as numerals like i, VI, III, VII: learn one and you have it in all twelve minor keys.
Why are some numerals capitals and some lowercase?
The case tells you the chord quality. Lowercase are minor, which in B minor means Bm, Em and F#m. Capitals are major: D, G and A. The small circle on ii° means diminished, and here that is C#dim.
What is the relative major of B minor?
D major. It is written with two sharps, F# and C#, the same signature as B minor, and it contains the same seven chords. Only the chord that sounds like home changes, from Bm to D.
The relative major
D major is written with the same two sharps, F# and C# and contains the same seven chords as B minor. What changes is which one sounds like home, so the same shapes can be played brighter without learning anything new. Chords in the key of D