subject: Guitar For Kids -- The Bm, Cm And C#m Chords [print this page] Greetings! Greetings!
Today, we are going to learn the Bm chord. From this chord, it's only a short hop, skip and a jump to the Cm, and the C#m chords.
They are all minor chords, which means that they will follow the formula of R (root) + m3 + M3.
For the Bm chord, the root of course is B. The rest of the notes are D and F#. So the Bm chord is:
B D F#
Take a look at the chord fingering. The last 2 strings are not played as you can see. The 1st string has the 1st finger on the 2nd fret. This is an F#.
[ X X 4 4 3 2 ]
The 2nd string has the 2nd finger on the 3rd fret. This is a D.
The 3rd string has the 4th finger on the 4th fret. This is a B.
The 4th string has the 3rd finger on the 4th fret. This is an F#.
So from high to low the notes are:
F# D B F#
It does not matter if notes are repeated, just as long as the only notes played are B, D and F#. No other notes allowed.
And now for the hop, skip and the jump!
To get to the Cm chord (C Eb G), all we gotta do is "move" the Bm chord up 1 fret so that the 1st finger is now on the 3rd fret. This note is a G.
The 2nd string has the 2nd finger on the 4rd fret. This is an Eb.
The 3rd string has the 4th finger on the 5th fret. This is a C.
The 4th string has the 3rd finger on the 5th fret. This is an G.
[ X X 5 5 4 3 ]
So from high to low the notes are:
G Eb C G X X
These notes, of course are the only notes allowed. Remember that the Cm chord by definition is C, Eb and G.
Okay! One more little hop and we can get to the C#m chord.
Move this entire chord "form" (Yes! Think of it as a chord form.) up 1 more fret so that the 1st finger is now on the 4th fret.
[ X X 6 6 5 4 ]
Voila! The C#m chord!
The notes in a C#m chord are: C# E G#. This is the definition of a C#m chord.
That note where the 1st finger is -- It's a G#.
The 2nd string has the 2nd finger on the 5th fret. This is an E.
The 3rd string has the 4th finger on the 6th fret. This is a C#.
The 4th string has the 3rd finger on the 6th fret. This is a G#.
The last 2 strings are not played.
So from high to low the notes are:
G# E C# G# X X
By the way... Are you starting to just maybe see a pattern here? Hint: Think of the Chromatic Scale. Not only are each of your strings chromatic scales, but the guitar neck itself is a chromatic scale -- starting from WHATEVER NOTE I CHOOSE TO START WITH... Chew on this for awhile...
Okidoke. We just learned 3 chords by really just learning 1! That's pretty cool, ain't it?
So get crackin' and get these 3 chords down pat.
Professor Bruno Noteworthy
by: Professor Bruno Noteworthy: Toon Music Professor
