Chords in the Key of B Minor

What are the chords in B minor?

Take the B minor scale — B C# D E F# G A — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• Bm — i, minor, built on B
• C#dim — ii°, diminished, built on C#
• D — III, major, built on D
• Em — iv, minor, built on E
• F#m — v, minor, built on F#
• G — VI, major, built on G
• A — VII, major, built on A

The pattern of qualities is the same in every minor key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

Bm, Em and F#m — the i, iv and v — carry most songs in B minor. Add G (the VI) and A (the VII) for the classic minor-key turnaround.

• Bittersweet Loop — 6m–4–1–5 — Bm – G – D – A. Heard in Zombie, Numb.
• Andalusian Cadence — 6m–5–4–3 — Bm – A – G – F#. Heard in Hit the Road Jack, Stray Cat Strut.
• Dorian Vamp — 6m–2 — Bm – E. Heard in Oye Como Va, Evil Ways.

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of B minor: Bm7, C#m7♭5, Dmaj7, Em7, F#m7, Gmaj7, A7. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The v as a dominant seventh (F#m7) is the one that pulls hardest back to Bm.

B minor and D major share every chord

D major uses the same seven notes as B minor, so it has the same seven chords — the relative major. What changes is which chord is home: Bm in B minor, D in D major. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of D major, with their own numerals
• The B minor scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of B minor

1. Play Bm – Em – F#m – Bm slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of B minor fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.