Easy Way To Play B Chord On Guitar

The hardest chord most beginners face when they’re first starting out is the B chord. And Murphy’s law usually dictates that the first few songs you try to learn will include it.

So in this article we’re going to share 2 different variations of the B chord you can easily play today that sound great, won’t give you an RSI, and won’t have you feeling like you’re about to chuck your guitar out the window.

Easy B Chord: Option 1

Easy B Chord Finger Positions

1. Index finger: 2nd fret, 1st string
   Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st string
2. Middle finger: 4th fret, 4th string
   Place your middle finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string
3. Ring finger: 4th fret, 3rd string
   Place your ring finger on the 4th fret of the 3rd string
4. Pinky finger: 4th fret, 2nd string
   Place your pinky finger on the 4th fret of the 2nd string
5. Play chord
   Strum all strings, except the 6th and 5th string

By the way: If you need help understanding chord charts, check out our guide by clicking here.

Why This Is A Good Alternative To The B Barre Chord

The finger positions for this version of the B chord are almost exactly the same as the B barre chord. The only difference is that your index finger is pressing on the 2nd fret of the first string, instead of trying to barre the 2nd fret.

And it’s the barring of the 2nd fret that causes beginners (and some intermediate) players so much pain and problems.

And so by learning this easy version of the B chord, it’ll get your mind muscle connection ready for the full barre chord when you’re ready to play it and it sounds great too!

With that said, if this is still too much of a stretch (and that’s totally fine if it is at this stage!) you should try option 2, the B7 chord…

Easy B Chord: Option 2 (the B7 chord)

B7 Chord Finger Positions

Here’s where to put your fingers when playing the B7 chord:

1. Index finger: 1st fret, 4th string
   Place your index finger on the 1st fret of the 4th string
2. Middle finger: 2nd fret, 5th string
   Place your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string
3. Ring finger: 2nd fret, 3rd string
   Place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string
4. Pinky finger: 2nd fret, 1st string
   Place your pinky finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st string
5. Play chord
   Strum all strings, except the 6th string

Why B7 Is A Good Alternative To The B Chord

The truth is, most guitarists start out playing B7 instead of B. It’s not technically the same as the B major chord, it’s more of a blues chord, but because it sounds so similar, the untrained ear wouldn’t even notice a serious difference.

It’s really easy to play once you get used to it as you don’t have to stretch your fingers too far or use frets too far up the fretboard. This will allow you to get in that important practice, without struggling too much at the beginning.

If you find guitar apps helpful when learning, take a look through our list of top guitar apps that we recently reviewed.

Please Note:

Although the B7 is a good replacement chord at the beginning, we strongly advice you start trying to use the easy B alternative (option 1 above) as this will help you progress much faster in your guitar journey.

Bookmark this page (hold ctrl and press D) and come back in a few weeks time. Then let us know how you get on in the comments below!

The B Barre Chord

We thought we’d include this here because you will need to learn it at some point. This is the way to play the B barre chord:

1. Index finger: barre the 2nd fret
   Use your index finger to barre the 2nd fret (don’t worry about the 6th string, we won’t need to play that one)
2. Middle finger: 4th fret, 4th string
   Place your middle finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string
3. Ring finger: 4th fret, 3rd string
   Place your ring finger on the 4th fret of the 3rd string
4. Pinky finger: 4th fret, 2nd string
   Place your pinky finger on the 4th fret of the 2nd string
5. Play chord
   Strum all strings, except the 6th string

SEE ALSO: The Top Apps To Learn Guitar In 2023