How To Play The Guitar Chords B Minor 7

The guitar chords B minor 7 is made of the notes B D F# A. It is a minor 7 chord. 

A minor 7 chord is built from the intervals of a root, b3, P5, and m7. This chord is common in the keys of A Major, G Major, D Major, and of course, B minor.

In this article we will break down the building blocks for 7th chords and talk more about how you can implement bm7 into your playing. Let’s learn the guitar chords b minor 7!

guitar chords b minor 7

Music Theory Bm7

  • The B Minor 7 chord is built from the notes B D F# and A.
  • A seventh chord is a chord made of the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of a scale.
  • A B minor 7 chord is made from the root, min 3rd, Perfect 5th, and minor 7th of the B Maj scale.
  • a Maj 7th is 11 half steps above the root note, or one half step below  the root note.
  • The 5th can be (and is sometimes) omitted from the 7th chord.
  • The B Minor 7 chord can be displayed in various different ways: B Min 7 , Bm7, B-7
  • It doesn’t matter where you play this chord, as long as you hit the notes B D F# A you are playing the right chord.
  • Every chord voicing will have its own unique sound and color, so listen closely to choose which one you want to put into your songs.

How To Play Bm7

Method 1

bm7 on guitar
  • Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string.
  • Place your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string.
  • Place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st string.

Bm7 Barre Chord

Method 2

bm7 easy
  • Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string and barre.
  • Place your middle finger on the 3rd fret of the 3rd string.
  • Place your ring finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string.

Method 3

bm7 barre chord
  • Place your index finger on the 7th fret of the 6th string and barre.
  • Place your ring finger on the 9th fret of the 5th string.

Having trouble with barre chords? Check out our article on the secrets to mastery here:

Bm7 Alternate Ways To Play

While it’s important to know the common voicings, they can get repetitive. Here are some alternative ways to play Bm7.

Method 4

bm7 alternate ways to play
  • Place your index finger on the 7th fret of the 6th string.
  • Place your middle finger in the 7th fret of the 4th string.
  • Place our ring finger on the 7th fret of the 3rd string.
  • Place your pinky on the 7th fret of the 2nd string.

Method 5

easy way to play bm7
  • Place your index finger on the 7th fret of the 4th string and barre.

Method 6

how to play bm7 on guitar
  • Place your index finger on the 9th fret of the 4th string.
  • Place your middle finger on the 10th fret of the 2nd string.
  • Place your ring finger on the 10th fret of the 1st string.
  • Place your pinky on the 11th fret of the 3rd string.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the easiest way to play B minor 7 on guitar?

The easiest way to play B minor 7 is to bar the top 3 strings on the 7th fret.

What is B Major Minor 7th on guitar?

A major minor 7th chord is also called a dominant 7th chord. It is built from a major triad and a minor 7th. It has a strong tendency to go back to the Tonic.

Typically the only chord of major minor 7th quality is the V7 chord. B major minor would have the tones B D# F# A and it would be the V7 chord in the key of E Major and E Minor.

What chords are in B Major 7?

Because B Major 7 is a chord itself, it cannot have chords within it. However the key of B Major can has the following diatonic 7th chords:

BM7, C#min7, D#min7, EMaj7, F#7, G#min7, A#ø7

How can you tell if a 7th chord is major or minor?

The musical scale always repeats itself after 7 notes. For example, the B Major scale goes:

B C# D# E F# G# A# and then back to B. 

From B all the way up to B there are 12 half steps. 

We can think of a minor 7th as 10 half steps above B OR 2 half steps below B. 

Similarly, a major 7th is 11 half steps above the root, but it is also just 1 half step below the root. 

Remember that the leading tone (the note directly below the tonic) is always the major 7th!

Related: Guitar Chord D Minor 7: All You Need To Know

Conclusion

B minor 7 is made of the notes B D F# A. It is a minor 7 chord. A minor 7 chord is built from the intervals of a root, b3, P5, and m7. This chord is common in the keys of A Major, G Major, D Major, and of course, B minor. A minor 7th is 2 half steps below the root note of the chord. Bm7 is most commonly played on the 2nd fret of the 5th string. I hope you have learned a lot from this article! Have fun!

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