B

About the B chord

The B chord (major) is made up of 3 notes — B is the root, D♯ the major third and F♯ the perfect fifth. It is the plainest, most stable chord there is — a major triad with nothing added.

On guitar, B chords are usually played as a barre — x24442, with your first finger laid flat across the 2nd fret. Leave the low E string out and strum the rest. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings in all.

Major chords sound bright and settled, anchoring a huge share of pop, folk and rock.

Open B in the interactive finder →

Common questions

What notes are in the B chord?

The B chord contains the notes B, D♯ and F♯.

How do you play B on guitar?

A common shape is x24442. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings you can strum or hear.

What intervals make up the B chord?

The B chord is built from the root (B), a major third (D♯) and a perfect fifth (F♯).

More than a chord chart

The chart above is just the start. Open B in the finder to hear it on guitar and piano and browse every playable voicing side by side. Or switch to Name my chord — tap frets or keys and MobileChords identifies the chord you're playing, inversions and slash chords included.