Guitar Lesson -- The Bb Chord

The Bb (B flat) chord is another one of those nasty little chords that beginning guitarists love to hate

. It's one of those "pretzel" chords -- at least it seemed that way to me when I was trying to learn it.

Be that as it may, here is the Bb chord:

[ X X 3 3 3 1 ]

Your first finger goes on the first string first fret. So far, so good. Now comes the hard part. Put your second finger all the way over to the fourth string third fret. Your second finger goes next to that on the third string, and your fourth finger goes next to that on the second string.The fifth and sixth strings are not played.

Simple enough, right?

Because this chord seems to feel so unnatural to a lot of beginners, it's hard to get all of the notes clear. In fact, this version of the Bb chord feels unnatural even to many experienced guitarists, and is avoided whenever possible. It's just an icky chord.

However, it's also one of those chords that we all needed to learn so we just got over it.

One way that might help you to get all of the notes clear is to get your second, third, and fourth fingers clear first without putting down your first finger. When those notes are clear, try completing the chord with your first finger.

Another way is to learn it starting from the first two strings. That's the first finger on the first string first fret, and the fourth finger on the second string third fret. Get that clear, then add your third finger. When that's clear, add your second finger.

I personally like the first way better, but who knows, the second way may work better for you.

LIke I said, the challenge here is to make sure that all of the notes are clear. It's one of the tougher chords that you will ever have to learn. But you can do it. You're making music.

by: James Emery Vigh

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