The B5 guitar chord is built from the notes B, F#. Its first guitar voicing is the movable voicing: low E string muted; A string at fret 2 (index finger); D string at fret 4 (ring finger); G string at fret 4 (ring finger); B string open; high e string at fret 2 (middle finger). It is a power chord chord, and this page gives you its exact notes, the fingerings that work on the guitar, the mistakes to avoid and the progressions it appears in.
What notes are in the B5 chord?
The B5 chord is a power chord chord, and its notes are fixed: B, F#. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root B, so you can see the structure of B5 at a glance. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in B5.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| B | Root |
| F# | 5 |
The root is B, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in B5 are 5. Once you know the intervals, you can build B5 from any root by counting the same semitone steps, which is how the chord works in every key. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
B5 sounds powerful, open and ambiguous — with no 3rd, the power chord is pure root and 5th, and it can fit over major or minor. Listen for that character when you play it — if B5 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in B5.
Comparing B5 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, power chord against a full triad: B5 has only B, F# — root and 5th. Add the 3rd D# and it becomes major; add D and it becomes minor. Hearing the comparison matters more than reading it: play B5, then play the chord it is compared with above, and let your ear find the note that changed. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes B, F# in B5.
How to play B5 on guitar
On the guitar, B5 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — B, F# — in a different place on the neck. Start with the first voicing and get it clean before you try the movable shapes further up the neck. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
The movable voicing puts B5 in around fret 2: low E string muted; A string at fret 2 (index finger); D string at fret 4 (ring finger); G string at fret 4 (ring finger); B string open; high e string at fret 2 (middle finger). The challenge here is the muted string: 1 string is marked x, and it needs to stay silent. Let the edge of a fretting finger rest lightly on it — muting by touch, not by pressing. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in B5 — B, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Another way to play B5 is the barre chord, in around fret 2: low E string at fret 2 (index finger); A string at fret 2 (index finger); D string at fret 4 (middle finger); G string at fret 4 (middle finger); B string open; high e string at fret 2 (index finger). It barres across strings 1 to 2 at fret 2 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 1 to 2 evenly at fret 2, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in B5 — B, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The movable voicing is the voicing to learn if you want B5 in around fret 2: low E string muted; A string at fret 2 (index finger); D string muted; G string at fret 4 (ring finger); B string open; high e string at fret 2 (middle finger). The challenge here is the muted strings: 2 strings are marked x, and they need to stay silent. Let the edge of a fretting finger rest lightly on them — muting by touch, not by pressing. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in B5 — B, F# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of B5 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide B5 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of B5 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into B5 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in B5.
A short practice routine for B5 on the guitar: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above B and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Guitar Chord Finder to see the diagram for B5 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make B5 sound wrong on the guitar, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Playing it too slowly. Power chords are about rhythm and movement. Practise changing them on the beat, not between beats. On the guitar, the movable voicing of B5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Using it where a triad is needed. B5 has no 3rd, so it cannot carry the major-or-minor information a melody sometimes needs. Use full triads in clean, melodic passages. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in B5.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of B5, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of B5 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, the movable voicing of B5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Adding a 3rd by accident. A stray finger on the 3rd can turn a power chord into a triad, which sounds muddy through distortion. Mute the strings that should not sound. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes B, F# in B5.
Where B5 is used
B5 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of E major, the key of F# major, the key of B major. the rhythm-guitar chord of rock, punk and metal, where distortion makes full triads sound muddy. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward E major, the key a perfect fourth above B, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where B5 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in B5.
Because B5 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain B triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try B5 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the movable voicing of B5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in B5 on piano, B5 on ukulele, B5 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the B major scale and the B minor pentatonic scale. Learning B5 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — B, F# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising B5
A short worked example makes B5 concrete. Play the four-chord progression E – B – C#m – A in E major, the key B5 most often resolves toward: E – B – C#m – A. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how B5 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on B5 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes B, F# in B5.
For a second exercise, play B5 and then the chord a fourth above B, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move B5 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing B5 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: B, F#. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes B, F# in B5.
Frequently asked questions
Is B5 major or minor?
Neither. B5 contains only B, F# — the root and the perfect 5th — so it has no 3rd to make it major or minor. That is why it works over both. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
Why do rock guitarists use B5?
Through distortion, full triads sound muddy because the overtones clash. A power chord has only two notes, so it stays clear and punchy even with heavy distortion. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
What notes are in B5?
Just two: B, F#. The root B and the perfect 5th F#. Some voicings add the root an octave higher, but the chord itself is only those two pitch classes. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
How do you play B5 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the movable voicing: frets x–2–4–4–0–2, fingers 0–1–3–3–0–2, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes B, F#, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for B5, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is B5 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of B5 on the guitar is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.